


Not Alone in This Nightmare

by alivebutdeadinside_6_6_6



Series: Nightmare After Nightmare [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drug Use, Gen, Good Sibling Allison Hargreeves, Good Sibling Ben Hargreeves, Good Sibling Diego Hargreeves, Good Sibling Klaus Hargreeves, Pre-Canon, Protective Ben Hargreeves, Protective Diego Hargreeves, Protective Klaus Hargreeves, Protective Siblings, Rape/Non-con Elements, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:01:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 23
Words: 50,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25612480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alivebutdeadinside_6_6_6/pseuds/alivebutdeadinside_6_6_6
Summary: Normal: Diego gets a call from Eudora telling him to stay the hell away from her crime scenes.Normal: Diego gets a call from the hospital about Klaus being checked in for an overdose (again).Not normal: Diego gets a call from both about his sister.
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves & Ben Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves
Series: Nightmare After Nightmare [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1911256
Comments: 183
Kudos: 1306





	1. Not What Was Expected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After dragging Klaus (and by default Ben) out of an alley, Diego gets a call.

Diego was ready to go home and sleep after a long night of saving the general public from danger, but he couldn't. He had a high Klaus, freshly pulled from a back alley, talking to air about chocolate pudding? He didn't care and didn't want to know. Diego sighed and looked at the dashboard clock: 5:49 AM, not enough time to get Klaus settled (worse than getting a child on a sugar rush to bed), wash up, and get any semblance of sleep, he felt the beginning of a headache from the constant back seat chatter and exhaustion. He sighed again as he pulled into the gym's parking lot and parked his car.

"Come on Klaus get inside." Klaus stopped mid-chatter to look at his surroundings and groaned.  
"But Diego I'm hungry can we get waffles? Let's get waffles!" Diego said nothing as he opened the door and dragged Klaus out of the car, pointedly ignoring his commentary on how hungry he was and wanted waffles. The first thing that greeted them after Diego unlocked and opened the door was the shrill ringing of the phone. Klaus paid no attention to it as he flounced past Diego, stumbling slightly as he went, seemingly muttering to no one. With one last look at his brother, Diego picked up the phone and answered.

"Hello?"  
"Is this Diego Hargreeves?" Diego paused, this was just like when the hospital calls about Klaus, but that couldn't be right. Klaus was in the boiler room most likely raiding his sparse fridge for snacks. Confused Diego answered with a quick yes.  
"I'm calling from the North General Hospital, we got your number from Detective Patch s-"

"Wait, wait," Diego was thoroughly confused, Eudora gave his number to a hospital, what the fuck was going on?

"Why did Eudora give you my number?" The voice on the other end sighed.

"She tried getting in touch with you, but was called away before she could."

"So she's not hurt?" Diego questioned.

"No sir, Detective Patch is fine."

"Then why the hell are you calling me?"

"Sir, it's about your sister."

* * *

Ben sighed as he watched Klaus rummage through Diego's fridge, Klaus was complaining since all their brother seemed to have was a carton of raw eggs. Seriously, is that all Diego ate? Ben shifted his gaze around the room, not much had changed since the last time they were here. The cross stitch from mom was still in place, posters advertising different fights, bed still in the corner, the dresser still needed to be cleaned a poster from Diego and Vanya's old band was still hanging in the corner of the room. Ben was slightly shocked that it was still up, after the book came out, Diego seemed about ready to forget Vanya had ever existed.

"I'm surprised he kept that hanging up." Klaus stopped mid-chatter to see what Ben was talking about. 

"Yeah well, that was their pride and joy, maybe he wants to remember some of the good old days. Even though they weren't all that good, I mean look what happened, Vanya left and Diego became more emotionally constipated than usual and then he left followed shortly by Allison and then we spread our wings and began to fly. Or, well I did and you just followed me." 

"Well someone has to make sure you don't fall flat on your face." Ben turned back to his brother and noticed he had moved to drape himself dramatically across Diego's bed. "You could take the couch you know, not his bed."

"Well, he didn't take us to get waffles so he deserves it, Benny! Diego, our brother who pulled us-" "You" "-out of our nice comfy spot, and didn't even bother to feed us! The absolute gall of him!" Ben gave him a deadpan look, following Klaus around for twelve years gave him a substantial amount of immunity to the theatrics. He opened his mouth with a retort but was cut short when Diego walked into the room. Ben immediately noticed something was wrong, Diego hadn't snapped at Klaus to get the hell off his bed, barely even looked at him and his hands were shaking. Klaus must have noticed too because he sat up and looked at their brother.

"Diego?" He looked up with a sharp intake of breath. Klaus was studying him, even though the drug haze he was currently in, he could tell Diego was trying to string together words and form a sentence in his head.

"It was the hos- hospital," Diego paused, as if unsure of what to say next. "I ne-need to g-go." Klaus put a lazy smile on his face, (though Ben could tell that he was disappointed, this was the first time they saw Diego in months.) and flopped back down on the bed.

"Well don't worry about little old me. Go on and do your civic duty!" He promptly rolled to the side and under the covers.

"Kl-Klau-Klaus," Ben turned and looked at Diego, wondering what the hell had happened to shake their brother up so badly, "Please don't leave, I'll need to call you later when I-I know more." That got Klaus's attention, and he popped his head back up and squinted at Diego.

"Know about what Diego?" No answer. Klaus sat up fully, his eyes dancing over to Ben and back to Diego. "What's going on?"

"Just Pr- prom-promise me you won't go anywhere." He turned and looked at him, and Ben got a clear look at his brothers' face. His face was pale, and his eyes pleading and slightly dazed as if he couldn't believe what the hell was happening. Klaus, sensing the desperation in his voice nodded and looked at Ben.

"I'll follow him, make sure he's ok," Ben promised as Diego spun out of the room and down the hall. Ben, with one last look at Klaus. peeled off the wall and followed behind. He sat in the front seat next to Diego, who was driving like a mad man and clutching the steering wheel as if his life depended on it. He parked outside a hospital, Ben recognized it, (he follows Klaus what do you expect?) it was one that Klaus rarely frequented, but had been to enough times to know that Vanya works in the area. What worried Ben was that Diego didn't get out right away.

"The hell is going on Diego." Predictably there was no reply as his brother took a shaky breath in and slowly got out of the car. (He remembered to take the harness off at least.) Ben followed him up to the reception and listened as Diego and the receptionist talk, it was normal hospital talk, he's heard it all before. What shocked him though, was who Diego said he was here to see, and it had Ben's dead heart seemingly skipped a beat.

"Vanya Hargreeves" 


	2. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Diego try to get answers about what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of sexual assault  
> TW: Description of violence and blood.  
> I have no medical experience so I could be wrong about multiple things.

If Ben was alive, he probably would have choked. Vanya? Vanya Hargreeves? Their sister? That's who Diego came to see? What the fucking hell happened?! He followed numbly behind Diego and the nurse, listening in on what they were saying.

"I'm so glad someone got a hold of you, your sister will need all the help and support she can get." The nurse (Joyce according to her name tag) explained, "She was semiconscious when she was brought in, but didn't seem to understand what was going on at the time, probably due to the shock." Diego said nothing, and Ben just followed behind as they entered an elevator. Joyce turned and looked at Diego "Her doctor was paged when you showed up, so she should meet us at the room." Diego responded with only a clenched jaw and small nod, Joyce looked away, then looked right back, "Did someone tell you what happened?" Jesus christ, Ben got that talking to people as part of her job, but couldn't she tell when someone didn't want to talk?

"They, they said she was attacked," Diego answered, Ben felt a cold chill pass over him. Attacked? Who the fucking hell attacked Vanya? Why the fucking hell did they attack Vanya? Before Ben could dive deeper into his whirlpool of thoughts, Joyce spoke up again.

"Did they tell you she was also sexually assaulted?" Oh god, oh god, please, someone tell Ben he heard wrong! He looked over at Diego, hoping for any type of reassurance that what Joyce just said was wrong, but Diego only looked straight ahead, and slowly nodded. Ben felt as if he was just punched in the gut. This was bad, this was so fucking bad. 

The elevator opened on the fourth floor and both brothers followed down the hall to a room marked with the number 427 and walked inside. The only noise in the room was the beeping of machines and Ben's strangled gasp as he rushed over to the bed that his little sister was laying in. In the background, he could faintly hear Joyce rambling on and Diego saying something back, but Ben heard none of it, his focus was glued to Vanya.

Her face was painted with bruises on the left side, her neck was also a light shade of purple. Ben glanced at her right arm that was in a cast, and her left hand that was wrapped in bandages. God no, this isn't bad, this is terrible, horrific; Ben was positive that there were probably more injuries that he couldn't see! Joyce's words chose that moment to ring back through his mind, ' _sexually assaulted'_ . Someone hadn't just attacked his sister, they had violated her! God fucking damn it! Ben felt his stomach writhe, no not stomach, the Horror. He hadn't felt it in years, not since he died. Ben took a deep breath, he needed to tell Klaus. He looked back at Vanya and noticed there were tear tracks running down her face, and that did nothing to settle the eldritch monster in his stomach.

"I'll come back," he whispered to her, even though no one here could hear him. With one last look at his siblings, Ben rushed out of the room (brushing into Diego by accident on the way out) and hurried to tell Klaus what happened.

* * *

Diego stared down at his sister, he could remember seeing each of his siblings in a similar position, lying motionless and hooked up to machines that monitored heart rate and other things. All except one, until now. He could vaguely hear the nurse (what was her name?) rambling on about recovery, therapy, possible PTSD from the attack, but Diego wasn't fully processing any of it. He shuddered as a chill swept over him, drawing him back to focus. 

"You said her doctor was paged?" She looked over at him, startled by the interruption, but quickly replied.

"She was! I can go see if she got held up with another patient if you like?" Diego nodded and watched as she whisked herself from the room. Hell, she could probably run _Klaus_ out of patience with how much she talked. He turned back to Vanya, and slowly walked over, with just the injuries he could see, Diego felt his anger bubbling over. Someone did this, someone fucking did this and god help them if, no, WHEN Diego got his hands on them. With fists clenched, Diego closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. No one would appreciate him taking his anger out on the wall. He was startled out of his thoughts with a knock on the door. Looking over he saw a woman with blue-rimmed glasses and hair in a high ponytail.

"Sorry for being late, I assume your her brother?" Diego nodded, "Good I'm Dr. Mason, I'm your sister's doctor while she's here." She looked up at Diego, right into his eyes. "I'm going to be blunt, nothing about her situation is good, she WILL need constant support through this. The Detective who gave us your number said the two of you had an argument a while back, and you've had a rocky relationship ever since. She can't have someone just, check up on her once every few weeks, she needs someone who will consistently be there to help her, and before I explain the extent of her injuries, I need to know if you will do that. If not, then get the hell out." Diego thought over everything she just said. It was true Vanya would need as much help through this as she could get, but what Dr. Mason was told is also true. Diego was pissed as hell when Vanya's book came out, after he read it, well, the Doctor's word was 'argument', Diego would call it 'Yell at Vanya without giving her a chance to speak", but, Diego also remembered his time at the police academy. He was told about different cases, with similarities to Vanya's, he had been told the aftermath of these situations hell, he has SEEN the aftermath. Diego also knew that if he walked away, there would be no telling when the next time he saw his sister if he saw her. With that in mind, he squared his shoulders and said,

"I'm staying with her." Dr. Mason searched his face and must have believed him. With that, she nodded and turned to the chart in her hand, and began to speak.

"She has a mild concussion, her left eye is completely swollen shut, there was some minor swelling in her throat due to strangulation, but we managed to get that taken care of. Your sister's right arm suffered a break at the elbow, so she will be in a cast for about six to eight weeks, maybe longer depending on how it heals. Her small, ring and middle finger were broken, she has four cracked ribs on her left side, both legs are severely bruised and..." She trailed off, Diego gave her a questioning look, "At the moment, her right leg concerns us greatly." She moved over to Vanya's side and pulled the blankets up the reveal a long bandage running up from her calf, and under the hospital gown. "From what we could gather, she pushed her attacker, and when he fell, the knife he had gone in at her knee and down her leg." Dr. Mason replaced the blankets and looked up at Diego before continuing. "She will be able to walk, but not well." Diego was silent. What the hell could he say, he knew it would be bad, but this? Diego ran a hand down his face before turning to Dr. Mason.

"Do you know when she'll wake up?" She answered with a shake of her head before replying,

"At the least, hours. At most, a few days." Diego nodded. 

"Our brother, h-he's staying at my place. I-I ne-need to call him." Dr. Mason nodded before telling him where the nearest phone was. Diego stumbled out of the room and leaned against the wall. His mind was going a mile a minute. He needed to call Klaus, but would anyone else answer? Allison's manager blocks anything and everything related to the Academy, Luther has been on the damn moon for about three-and-a-half years, so the only way to tell him would be to tell dad and fuck Diego if he had to talk the Reginald Hargreeves. With that in mind, Diego walked over to the phone and dialed Klaus. 


	3. What Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben tells Klaus. Klaus runs a marathon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Description of violence, blood, injuries and mentioned sexual assault  
> I have no medical experience and could get many things wrong.

Klaus was bored. Maybe a tad bit worried. Ok, he was worried. Something had shaken Diego up so badly that his stutter resurfaced, and he told Klaus he would call to tell him what happened. Normally, if something in Diego's life of vigilantism goes horribly wrong he normally goes to the darkest corner he could find and brood. Not this time though, this time, he planned on telling Klaus what the hell happened if he remembered that is. Klaus sighed, nestling further into the bed, ignoring the fuzzy outline of the bloody man that had been following him ever since Diego pulled him out of the alley. He wondered when Ben would come back, maybe waffles could be eaten when he returned.

"KLAUS!!!" Well, speak of the Bentacles and he shall appear. Klaus rolled over and squinted through the drug haze at his brother. Ben looked as if he was three seconds away from completely breaking and falling apart. "You need to get to the hospital right fucking NOW!" 

"Why? What happened? You look like you're about to keel over, and that's saying something considering the fact your already dead." He finished with a tight chuckle. Ben didn't look amused, which is basic Ben default when Klaus tries to lighten the mood.

"Klaus, it's Vanya." With that, he froze. Vanya? He turned back to Ben.

"Vanya?" Ben nodded, "Little Vanya?" another nod, "Our sister Vanya, who wrote a 300 page 'fuck you assholes', is in the hospital." Ben nodded a third time before continuing.

"It's bad Klaus. She was attacked and, and hurt badly and on top of that she was..." He trailed off. Klaus walked up to him, whatever else happened, had his brother in near tears and borderline hyperventilating. Now, Klaus may be about as high as a kite, but he could tell whatever Ben wasn't saying, was definitely worse.

"Benny, what happened?" His voice was deadly quiet. Ben took a deep breath, then another before answering.

"Vanya was, she was raped, Klaus." The world went quiet, that last sentence was bouncing around in Klaus' head and wasn't slowing down anytime soon. His mind raced, he started hoping that this was all just a bad trip, that the pills he took were laced with something instead of what he was hearing. Being attacked is one thing, but... Oh god, what the hell do they do? Klaus looked back at Ben and nearly fell apart again. He was honest to god crying, Klaus didn't even know ghosts could do that. He could ask about that later, right now he needed to get to Vanya.

"Ben let's go." With that, Ben nodded and rushed out the room with Klaus at his heels. They both ignored Diego's boss as he called after them and ran down the street to their sister.

* * *

Klaus burst through the hospital doors, breathing heavily, ignoring the looks he got from the people in the waiting room, and followed Ben to the elevator. He pushed the button for the fourth floor at Ben's urging. When the door closed, Klaus bent over with his hands on his knees gasping, trying to catch his breath. Ben looked over at him (cheeky bastard doesn't run out of breath) with mild concern etched into his face. It was almost enough to block out the woman in the corner crying her one eye out, she was also missing half of her head. Ben glanced over and slightly shifted so that he was blocking Klaus' view of her. Klaus gave a slight nod and straightened (ha, straight) up as the doors opened. He followed Ben out and down the hall towards their sister. When he turned the corner, he saw Diego leaning against the wall talking to a woman. Klaus did a double-take, he had completely forgotten Diego was already here, oops. He walked towards them, they seemed to be mid-conversation, or well, the lady was talking and Diego was nodding at what she was saying. Diego noticed him as he approached.

"Klaus." Diego stood up from the wall while looking over at him, the woman turned and looked him up and down with a raised brow. He was wearing pants, right? He didn't feel like getting thrown out because he forgot his pants, again. Klaus took a swift look down at himself and yep, there were his leather pants, a shirt, a coat, and two shoes. It didn't occur to him that she had noticed the blown pupils he was currently sprouting.

"This is your brother?" She asked looking over at Diego, he nodded "Is there anyone else you want to call?" Oh. Klaus could hear the underlying question, ' _Is there anyone you could call who isn't high?"_ He almost forgot about the three pills in the pocket of his coat.

"He's the only one I knew for certain would come," Diego answered, looking at the lady, practically daring her to say something. She just pursed her lips and nodded, Diego turned back to Klaus.

"This is Dr. Mason, she's looking after Vanya." She stuck her hand out for him to shake, which he did, she continued to look at him with a critical eye. Klaus retracted his hand quickly, clearing his throat and looking around. It was then he spotted Ben standing in a room right across from them, and in the room was Vanya. Klaus' breathe was caught in his throat as he walked forward. He moved towards Vanya's side and oh god did he start crying. Ben said it was bad, Diego's reaction to the phone call said it was bad, but seeing his little sister lying in a bed hooked up to different machines and in a cast, just made the situation all too real. With a choked sob he turned back to the other three people in the room.

"Will she be ok?" He didn't know who he was asking, but his eyes danced between Diego, Ben, and Dr. Mason, hoping one would give an answer.

"She will recover physically, for the most part." Klaus jerked back at the doctor's words.

"What, what do you mean for the most part?" Diego walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Her leg is messed up badly, she may not be able to walk for a while."

"Even when she is able to walk again, she will have a limp for the rest of her life." Klaus glanced at the doctor, his living brother and his dead brother, not knowing how to respond. He opted for turning back to Vanya, and my god he just started crying harder.

"How long until she wakes up?" Klaus chocked out.

"We don't know for sure. All that can be done right now is to wait." Klaus just put his head in his hands. He felt someone move him to sit in a chair. "I need to go check up on another patient but I will be back in about an hour to check on her. If anything changes let one of the nurses know and they'll come get me." Klaus heard footsteps leaving the room, but didn't move his head. The only thing keeping him slightly grounded was the weight of a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look and saw Diego standing next to him, looking over at their sister, his face was an emotionless mask, but his eyes portrayed the raging emotions he was feeling. With a sigh, he looked over at Ben. Ben was sitting at the foot of Vanya's bed, his gaze shifting between both Klaus and Vanya. Klaus turned back to his sister, she seemed smaller than normal. This was a hurricane wrapped into a nightmare. Dad's hellish training had gotten them prepared for broken bones and gunshot wounds, but never injuries to this extent. Nothing could have prepared the three Hargreeves brothers for this. 


	4. How did You Know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To many questions, not enough answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: description of violence, blood and mentioned sexual assault

The room was quiet, with the only sounds being the machines and Klaus quietly sniffling. Diego looked down at his brother, Klaus' eyes were teary, puffy and red, with one hand covering his mouth and the other gripping his hair. Diego noticed his eyes would flicker between Vanya, and an empty spot at the foot of her bed, which, in a way was normal for Klaus. He was always looking into empty parts of a room as if there was someone standing there. Diego used to think it was because of his power, but after the drugs, Diego didn't know anymore. With a sigh, another question popped up in Diego's mind: How did Klaus know where to go? According to Al, Klaus darted past him while on the phone with Diego, so he didn't even get the message that it was Vanya in the hospital. Diego glanced down at his brother again, they weren't on the first floor, even if he stopped at reception, Klaus still wouldn't have known which hospital he was at, so if Klaus didn't get his message, then how did he know where to find them?

A dark thought floated across Diego's mind. ' _Did Klaus know what happened?'_ Diego shook his head, he wouldn't have known. Klaus is good at many things, but keeping secrets is not one of them due to his lack of filter. But at the same time...

"Klaus?" He hummed a response, "How did you know where I was?" Klaus froze, his eyes locked at the empty spot on the bed.

"I just asked the receptionist where the tall, dark brooding guy went and she pointed me in the right direction." He said it with a faux sense of nonchalance, but Diego saw how his shoulders had tensed.

"That doesn't explain how you knew which hospital I was at." 

"Does it matter?" Klaus choked out with a small laugh.

"Yeah Klaus, it doe-" "Why because you think I knew what happened?" When Diego didn't answer Klaus looked up at him with a shocked expression.

"You, You don't think I have anything to do with this, do you?" Klaus shot up from his chair and stumbled away from Diego, "Do you?"

"Klaus-" "Oh my god you think I do, don't you? Why would you even-" He cut off with a shake of his head. Diego took this opportunity to walk over and place his hands on Klaus' shoulders.

"I don't think you knew or had anything to do with this ok? You have to believe me when I say I don't. But there will be others looking into the case, and if they find out that you knew where to go without anyone telling you where we were, they will think you had something to do with it." Klaus looked at him and hung his head mumbling something too quiet to hear. "What?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth." He shook Diego's hands off him and sat back down at Vanya's side. He reached out, as if to hold her hand but stopped, looking at it. Vanya's left hand was almost completely wrapped in bandages. Klaus redirected his course, opting to hold onto her wrist instead. Diego sighed, yes, Klaus could never keep a secret to save his life, but sometimes getting him to talk was like pulling teeth. He walked over, sitting down at the foot of the bed. Diego felt a chill wash over him as he sat down, was something wrong with the hospital's AC? This had happened twice now. He shook his head and looked towards Klaus. Klaus wasn't looking at him, his gaze was fixed on Vanya, taking in every detail of their sister's face. Diego wanted answers but knew if he pushed, Klaus would probably walk out the door and not come back for a long time. With that in mind, Diego resigned himself to an unanswered question and a quiet room.

* * *

Detective Eudora Patch was exhausted. She had spent the last four hours trying to get someone to talk and got absolutely nothing from the suspect. He was currently sitting in lock up, but until Vanya Hargreeves woke up, they had no one who could positively identify him. She pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, there hadn't been any updates about the small woman's condition, but Eudora didn't want her to wake up alone, she had no idea if the hospital got in contact with Diego. Eudora just let out a breath as she entered the hospital, headed towards the elevator, and up to the fourth floor. When the doors opened, Eudora noticed the doctor walking past.

"Dr. Mason!" The woman turned sharply, eyes landing on the detective. She stopped walking and waited for Eudora to catch up.

"Detective Patch, I assume you're here to check on Ms. Hargreeves?" She nodded, "I'm sorry to say there have been no changes to her condition. Though on the bright side, her brothers are with her."

"Diego came?" Patch felt a small weight lift from her shoulders as the doctor nodded.

"He did, after I explained his sister's situation, he immediately called his brother. Though I must say, I am glad they are both here, the brother concerns me." Patch cocked her head waiting for Dr. Mason to continue, "When he showed up, his pupils were blown a mile wide and he was swaying unsteadily. Even if I wasn't trained to notice the signs, I would still think of substance abuse." Eudora sighed, she didn't have much experience with Klaus Hargreeves, but she heard enough about the man to know when someone was talking about him. 

"He was probably the only one who would've shown up," it was Mason's turn to look puzzled, "I'm sure Diego said something similar when Klaus came, but it's sadly the truth. They have a brother who disappeared when they were kids, another died at seventeen. Their last brother still lives with their father and Diego wouldn't call him to save his life, they have a sister, who would most likely not answer the phone if they called. Klaus is the only one who Diego could positively say would come." Mason continued to study her before nodding her head.

"I assumed as much, but he should still call them. If Klaus stays with his siblings, he will start to come down, which could lead to two things. One: He disappears and comes back after a bender higher than a kite, or two: He stays, doesn't take any drugs, and comes down crashing harder than a meteorite. Now I may not have known Diego Hargreeves for long but he seems like the type of person who would do anything to help his siblings, am I wrong?" Eudora shook her head, "Then in that case he will most likely burn himself out looking after both of them. It's not just Klaus and Vanya who will need help, he will too." 

"I'll talk to him." Dr. Mason gave her a small smile and nodded. Eudora turned and headed towards room 427 to check on the Hargreeves. The sight that greeted her was a sad one. Vanya Hargreeves was unconscious, looking extremely small with all the wires and cast. Klaus' eyes were fixated on his sister as if she would disappear if he looked away, his fingers were wrapped loosely around her wrist, as to not disturb the bandages on her hand. Diego had yet to notice her, he was standing in the corner of the room, watching over both of his siblings like a hawk. Patch knew they were all the same age, but Diego always considered Klaus and Vanya to be the youngest. She walked over to Diego and stood next to him, waiting for a sign of acknowledgment.

"Any suspects?" He asked, eyes still glued on his siblings.

"We have one in custody, but we have to wait for her to wake up so she can ID him." Diego nodded, his fists clenching at his sides, "Diego," she waited until he had turned to face her. "I know that right now you want to go out there and hunt down whoever did this, but that won't help your sister's case." He opened his mouth to speak but Patch cut him off, "If you do something that could even slightly, jeopardize this case, and whoever did this walked free, I know you would take matters into your own hands, and I'm half tempted to let you. But if something happens to the suspect, who do you think eyes would turn to?"

"I can handle myself Eudora you know I ca-," "But you could end up in jail. No one would be able to help you out of that and that is something your sister does not need right now. It's something both of them don't need right now." They turned towards the bed. Klaus had switched from studying Vanya's bruises intensely to staring at nothing with his head tilted as if listening to someone speak. She turned back to Diego.

"They'll both need you in the end, and you know it." He said nothing only looked at the ground and nodded. Eudora smiled a little, glad she could stop him from going out and beating people senseless, for once. She knew that this was going to be one conversation of many that they needed to have, but for now, she would settle for standing with them as they all kept vigil over the smallest Hargreeves.

It's shocking no one noticed Vanya's fingers start to twitch. 


	5. Where am I?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanya is confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention injuries, attacks and sexual assault  
> I have no medical experience

The first thing she was aware of was the steady beeping of her alarm. Was it morning already? She tried reaching out to turn it off but realized she couldn't. It felt as if a weight had settled over her entire body, making movement close to impossible. The next thing she noticed was that her alarm was going off to the left of her, not from the bedside table situated on her right. This confused her. She then felt someone's fingers encircling her wrist, they weren't holding it tightly, they were just, there. Vanya was confused. She didn't remember anyone coming into her apartment last night, who the hell was with her? The beeping started going off at a faster pace, Vanya tried to open her eyes but found they seemed to be crusted shut as if she had cried in her sleep again.

"Vanya?" She knew that voice, it was coming from her left, she recognized it but couldn't put a name or face to it.

"She waking up?" She knew that voice too, but couldn't place it either.

"I'll get the doctor." The third voice she was certain she didn't know. There were two sets of footsteps, one seemed to get farther away while the other got closer.

"Vanya?" The second voice again.

"D'you think she can hear us? Vanya, can you hear us?" First voice

"Give her a minute, will you? She's probably trying to get her bearings." Second.

"Her, her bearings?" First was, scoffing?

"I don't know, she's probably confused and shit at what's going on. Give her a minute alright?" Confused was one word for it. More footsteps.

"You think she's waking up?" Vanya didn't know this voice either.

"The heart monitor started going faster-" "Her hand started twitching too! That's gotta mean something, right?"

"It could." Someone approached her right side. "Ms. Hargreeves?" Ms. Hargreeves? Who the hell was calling her Ms. Hargreeves? "My name is Dr. Mason, do you think you could open your eyes for me?" Doctor? She was, where was she? Vanya turned her head right towards the fourth voice. With as much energy she could muster, Vanya barely managed to open one eye. The other wouldn't budge. "Glad to see you're awake Ms. Hargreeves," Vanya's vision was still slightly blurry, but she could see a woman with blue glasses standing in front of her. 

"Wh-wh" She tried asking where she was but her throat felt like someone rubbed it raw with sandpaper, she couldn't get one word out before she started coughing. She was vaguely aware of the hand on her wrist moving, and barely noticed the straw and cup someone was holding in front of her.

"Vanya, hey, Vanya hey. Try taking a drink ok?" She turned and noticed the straw and opened her mouth. Someone gently pushed it in and she started taking small sips. When she was done she looked at who was holding the cup, it looked kind of like...

"Klaus?" He smiled widely. His eyes seemed puffy like he had been crying. Who was he crying for?

"Yeah I'm here, me and Diego are both here." Diego? Vanya shifted her gaze and saw him standing behind Klaus. Her vision must be worse than she thought, he looked worried. It didn't make sense. Two of her brothers were here with her. Neither of them was hurt, and besides Klaus' puffy eyes, they both looked fine. Allison wasn't in the room, so she must be back in LA unless she was here seeing someone else. And there was only one person all three of them would come together and see.

"Is he ok?" Her brothers looked at each other then back at her.

"Is who ok?" Diego asked

"Luther"

"Luther? Who's Luther?" The doctor asked, Diego turned to answer.

"He's our brother."

"Vanya," she looked to Klaus, "Why wouldn't Luther be ok?" He looked confused

"Why else would you two be here?" Klaus let out a choked gasp, "Neither of you're hurt, and Allison's in LA, so there's only one person you'd come to see." Vanya explained. Klaus let out a whine as he looked between her and Diego, shaking his head.

"Vanya, Luther's not here, we came to check on you." Vanya looked up at Diego, confused.

"Why?"

"WHY? What do you mean why?" Klaus sounded like he was choking on every word he said.

"Cause you hate me." Both brothers were frozen like they couldn't comprehend what she just said. Diego and Klaus opened their mouths at the same time, ready to object to what she was saying, but the doctor intervened before they could.

"Alright, that's enough for now. I'd like to ask Ms. Hargreeves some questions, if the three of you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you stepped outside until I'm done." Diego looked ready to argue until a woman Vanya didn't even know was in the room walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, seemingly having a silent conversation, before nodding and lifting Klaus out of his chair and into the hallway. The doctor closed the door behind them and turned back to Vanya.

"I apologize if I seemed harsh. Now as I said before, I'm Dr. Mason. I'm going to be in charge of you while you're here. I know you're probably tired, but I do need to ask a few questions, you can go back to sleep once I'm done." Vanya's only response was a small nod. 

* * *

Diego was pacing, hate her, Vanya thought they hated her. Diego didn't hate her, he was mad sure, pissed as all hell because of the damn book, but, hate? He shook his head, maybe he should have at least said something the last time he saw her. Wait, the last time he saw her, wasn't that about a week ago? He remembered that they were both walking towards each other, it wasn't as crowded on the sidewalk so they both caught sight of each other very fast. She had stopped walking when they made eye contact, Diego kept moving and made a point to cross the street even though his car was three paces behind her. God fucking damn it. He felt his hands curl at his sides, and something else crossed his mind: If Vanya wasn't hurt as badly as she was, would she have even tried to get in touch with him? Would she have thought he didn't care enough to check on her? Would she have even gone for help? Or would she think in some twisted way she deserved it? Diego felt Eudora's eyes burning into his skull, but she didn't come over, he was grateful, he didn't think he could get a single word out if he wanted to.

Klaus was sitting on the floor in the hall, Ben was next to him. They were both thinking about the last time they saw Vanya. It had been a month ago. She had found Klaus high off his ass and dragged him home with her, she supported most of his weight. Ben was mildly impressed with that since his sister is so small and Klaus, while not that heavy, is a bean pole. Klaus had woken up at 4:00 AM the next morning and left before Vanya woke up, but not before swiping her peanut butter from her cabinet. Ben hadn't said anything about staying that time. This was so fucked.

Klaus and Diego (and Ben but only Klaus would know) both promised to stay with Vanya, all three of them had shit they needed to get through, and god damn it they were going to do it together. 


	6. Next Step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego, Klaus, Ben and Dr. Mason discuss what should happen next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentioned sexual assault and description of injuries.  
> I have no medical experience

With Diego pacing and Klaus sitting beside him, Ben was wondering if he should go back into the room. No one but Klaus would know he was there, and Vanya (even though she couldn't see him) wouldn't be left alone with someone she didn't know. He shifted his glance to Klaus, Ben knew he had popped a pill discreetly while waiting for Vanya to wake up. He also knew Klaus didn't have a large stash on him, and that can go bad in multiple ways when it runs out. He had no idea how to help him, Ben just hoped Diego would be able to. His train of thought was disrupted by the door of Vanya's room opening as Dr. Mason stepped out. Klaus bolted upright and made to go back with Vanya but the doctor held her hand out to stop him from entering, shaking her head. He stepped back, sandwiched between both his brothers.

"How is she?" Diego questioned

"She's alright, physically at least. She said she doesn't feel any pain at the moment which is due to the painkillers, but she should make a good recovery." Mason paused, "Mentally, on the other hand, the shock hasn't quite worn off yet. She has little to no memory of what happened last night." She turned towards the cop lady (Patch, this the Patch Diego keeps getting arrested by, right?) "Detective I Know you will want to take her statement as soon as possible, but she may not have any answers to the questions you want to ask." Patch nodded before responding,

"I still want to talk to her, even if no questions get answered, she deserves to know what's going." She looked between Mason, Diego, and Klaus, waiting for either agreement or argument. When no disagreement was voiced, she entered Vanya's room, closing the door gently behind her. Klaus looked at Ben, shifted his gaze towards the door then back again. Without saying anything, Ben knew what he was asking but shook his head.

"She deserves a chance to talk about what happened without anyone eavesdropping. When she's ready to tell you guys, I'll be there with you." Klaus looked ready to object but was interrupted by Dr. Mason clearing her throat.

"The fact she woke up after a few hours is good, but she will still need lots of rest. I'll want to start her on physical therapy for her leg as soon as possible, but that won't happen for another week or two at least. There is another issue I would like to discuss," All three brothers looked at her with questioning looks. "Now, to make things clear, I won't pretend to know the details of your relationship with your family, but Detective Patch mentioned a sister and another brother, in my opinion, they both deserve to know." It's not like Ben didn't agree, it's just the fact that they didn't exactly have Allison's number, and letting Luther know meant the possibility of interacting with dad and that's just a big fuck no in Ben's book. Looking at his brothers, he could tell they were thinking the same.

"It's not that we don't want to," Diego began, "But-" "We can't," Klaus interrupted, "Allison is in LA, and didn't really leave a calling card when she left and the only way to get in touch with Luther is to tell dad." Diego was nodding along to what he was saying.

"Even if we told our dad, that's still not a guarantee Luther would get the message." 

"Why wouldn't your father tell him about his sister being in the hospital?" Quizzed Mason. Klaus huffed out a small laugh,

"Let's just say our dear papa never thought anything Vanya related was too important." Ben sighed, god there were some days he wished he could punch the narcissistic asshole in the face, but he can't. Being dead and all. Dad always had the ability to sense when someone was having a good day and sour the mood for days, and no one, not even mom or Pogo cou- 

"WAIT!" Klaus flinched slightly, not expecting the sudden outburst, and shot Ben a side glare. "Mom and Pogo! We could tell one of them and see if they could get the message to Luther without dad knowing!" Klaus started nodding along mumbling how it could work. It's a shame he forgot Diego and Dr. Mason was right there.

"What could work?" Mason asked, Klaus didn't respond.

"KLAUS!" He snapped up, looking at Diego, "What could work?" Diego looked slightly worried as if he expected Klaus to start having a manic breakdown and start talking about the glitter fairies. (Yes, it happened. No Ben doesn't want to talk about it.)

"Mom and Pogo!" Diego still looked confused, "C'mon Diego, mom, and Pogo! We tell one of them and maybe-" "They can get a message to Luther without dad knowing." Klaus nodded enthusiastically, Ben looked thoughtful.

"Pogo probably could give us Allison's number too." Klaus relayed information to Diego. Mason looked pleased but slightly confused at the same time. A side effect of being involved with the Hargreeves.

"Alright, I'll head over to the Academy once Eudora's done talking with Vanya so they both know what's going on." Ben smiled, normally Diego would've just taken off but the fact he was waiting to tell Vanya what and where he was going spoke volumes. The look on Klaus' face showed the same line of thinking.

"I don't understand," The brothers turned to Dr. Mason, "Why not just call?" Diego sighed,

"The possibility that dad answers the phone is small, but I still don't want to risk it." And he tapped the phone lines in the house, Ben thought. The man was a Control Freak with a capitol C. While seemingly still confused Mason nodded. The four of them stood in silence for a short time before she started talking again.

"I'm afraid, there's still one thing we need to discuss," She turned and looked at Klaus. Oh, oh. The glance he gave Ben meant he understood what the doctor was talking about, and by the looks of it, Diego did too. "I don't know the full story of your, situation, and I am glad you came to be with Vanya, but you have to understand my concerns." 

"She has a point Klaus," Ben said, Diego, on the other hand, was not exactly comforting in his reaction.

"So what? You're saying he needs to leave?" "No, bu-" "Then what? He wouldn't do anything to put Vanya at risk if that's what your thinking!" "I kn-" "Klaus wouldn't try and steal her meds or anything she nee-" "MR. HARGREEVES" Diego stopped mid-rant, he hated it when people called him that. Dr. Mason smoothed her shirt out before continuing.

"I don't believe Klaus will take anything from your sister that she needs. What I'm worried about, is when he runs out." Diego's mouth shut with a click. "I assume you have something on you to stave off a comedown?" Klaus slightly nodded, Diego just looked disappointed. "My main concern is that once you've used what you have, we won't see you until you're two days deep into a bender. On the other hand," She sighed, "Maybe you decide to stay with Vanya and not leave until she does, but that would mean going cold turkey and diving headfirst into withdrawal. Vanya maybe my patient but she's not the only one I'm worried about." Diego was quick to jump in.

"I can take care of him." 

"Klaus and Vanya both?" She asked, "I assume you have a job, so in between, you working and looking after Vanya, you're also going to make sure Klaus doesn't go into a coma because his heart gave out due to physical stress?" He opened his mouth to object again, but Klaus cut him off.

"What're you suggesting?" She turned to him. 

"We have a rehab facility next door, I know the person in charge of the program and work something out." Klaus just scoffed

"Lady, I've been in and out of rehab for most of my life and it never stuck. What makes you think it would now?"

"You've never had a doctor threaten to throw you out of the hospital and keep you from seeing your sister." She said that without missing a beat or blinking. 

Ben had to admit, he'd never seen Klaus this close to saying yes and willingly go to rehab, but a ghost holding in his intestines had just walked past. Moaning about knife wounds, gin, and poker. Klaus turned slightly pale and the sight and clenched his hands in his pockets. Ben felt a weight settle in his stomach, Klaus was about to say no. But he looked past the ghost to the closed door behind them, closed his eyes, and took a shuddering breath. He turned towards Diego, who was just looking with pleading and sadness, then turned to Ben who smiled and nodded his head. Ben knew what choice he made. Klaus turned back to Dr. Mason and asked only one question,

"Where do I start?" 


	7. Behind the Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eudora and Vanya talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of sexual assault and description of violence and injuries.  
> I don't have any medical experience

Vanya's mind was reeling. She was in the hospital, she was attacked, she was... She couldn't finish that thought. Dr. Mason had listed off her injuries to her, black eye, broken elbow, broken fingers, severely injured leg, but what really got her head spinning, is what they were currently testing for. STDs, and pregnancy. Apparently, since they didn't know when she would wake up, they took blood and sent it to a lab for immediate testing. They would also have to re-test her in a few weeks just to make sure nothing slipped by. God that was a terrifying thought.

"Ms. Hargreeves?" Vanya snapped back to the present, turning towards the doctor, "I'm done for now. Though, I'm sure the detective would like to ask yo-" "Detective? What detective?" Dr. Mason looked at her, "Yes Detective Patch. She was in here earlier with your brothers and is working on your case. She'll most likely want to ask about last night." Vanya gave no response, she just stared ahead. Last night was, fuzzy, to say the least. Her last clear memory was leaving the theater.

"If you're not up for it I can tell her to come back at another time."

"No," Vanya shook her head, "I mean, I don't really remember last night, I won't be able to tell her anything helpful." Mason just looked at her sympathetically.

"That's normal. Sometimes after going through a traumatic experience, the subconscious blocks out what happened. In a way, you're protecting yourself from trauma."

"Do, do they ever come back? The memories?" Vanya inquired.

"Sometimes, sometimes not. Everyone is different." Silence, "If you have no more questions for me, I need to speak with your brothers. I'm sure Detective Patch will be in shortly to speak with you, even if you can't remember, she'll most likely still want to talk." A small nod. Vanya watched as Dr. Mason walked out of the room, leaving the door open as she did. Vanya could see both her brothers and another woman standing in the hall, this was probably the detective that the doctor was talking about. She made eye contact with Diego, even from her bed she could make out worry and something akin to guilt etched into his face. Why was he guilty? This wasn't his fault. Wanting to avoid the confusing emotions, Vanya turned her head and looked at the wall. She must have zoned out, because the next moment, someone else was shutting the door and standing in the room with her.

"Ms. Hargreeves?" The detective, "Or, would you prefer I call you Vanya?"

"Vanya's fine." She still wouldn't move her eyes from the wall.

"Alright, Vanya. My name's Detective Patch, I'm looking into what happened last night." She had moved into Vanya's line of sight, pulling a chair up to the bed. "Now, Dr. Mason said you don't remember everything, but anything you could tell me would be a big help." Vanya looked at her.

"I don't know what I could tell you. I don't remember much."

"And that's ok. Just tell me what you remember." Vanya turned and looked straight ahead, before starting.

"Rehearsal ran late. About an hour. I tried leaving when everyone else did." Eudora looked puzzled

"Tried?" She asked. Vanya nodded. "What happened?"

"There's someone, he, hasn't done anything bad he just. Makes me uncomfortable." Explained Vanya 

"What has he done?"

"He," Vanya sighed, "I wrote a book awhile back, and he read it." Eudora nodded, she knew about the autobiography. Diego had shown up on her porch bloody and bruised from taking his anger out on some random thugs about three weeks after it came out. "He started talking to me about it. I guess that, could've been about a year ago when he did. I tried deflecting, telling him I don't want to talk about what I had written and he seemed to back off until..."

"Until what," Vanya turned to Patch, then back ahead

"He asked me out," Patch's eyebrows went up. "I said no because when he had talked about the book, he just asked about my siblings. So I figured the only reason he wanted to go out with me is to find out more about them. But he didn't stop. Almost every week he would talk to me and ask me out again, it went on for months before he stopped asking." Eudora's stomach dropped. Stopped asking. That could mean so many things happened, and none of them good. "He had started saying things like 'we're going for drinks tomorrow,' or 'we're going to watch a movie at my place'. He insisted on driving me home multiple times but I always told him I called a taxi." Vanya took a deep breath before continuing, "He was waiting for me at the exit last night. I hid in the bathroom for about fifteen to twenty minutes before checking if he left."

"Did he?" Vanya shrugged

"I didn't see him so, I left. I walked home. Probably should've called a taxi, but with how late rehearsal ran and me hiding, it was after eleven, and getting a taxi at that time is almost impossible. After I left I..." Her eyes were squeezed shut.

"Take your time, we can take a break if you need to." Vanya shook her head.

"I felt paranoid like someone was watching me. Now, I don't know if it's just because of what had happened earlier or if someone was actually watching me. But, I was, close, to 58th and 9th street when someone grabbed me. They had a hand over my mouth so I couldn't scream. After that I, it gets fuzzy." Eudora nodded, so far everything added up. Vanya's bag and violin had been found in the opening of the alley by someone closing up her shop at about one in the morning on 9th Street. The woman claimed she had headphones in, so it would explain how she wouldn't have heard what was going on. "I remember it hurt. The person who was holding me had a hand on my throat, I couldn't breathe. I pulled at his hand, but he grabbed it, and I think I felt something snap..." She trailed off, looking at her left hand, covered in bandages. She started breathing heavier, and the heart monitor started going faster. Patch knew she needed to calm Vanya down.

"Hey, look at me, look at." Vanya met her gaze, "You're not there anymore. Take a deep breath, in through your nose and out through your mouth." Patch started taking exaggerated breathes, trying to get Vanya to copy her. Eudora let out a sigh of relief when she did. "Are you sure you don't need a-" "I think there were two of them." Eudora paused, hoping she hadn't heard right. "What?"

"I wasn't on the ground, someone was holding me, my hand, hurt and someone grabbed my legs. I tried kicking them away, but then my leg... I think there were two of them." Eudora looked at her before asking one more question.

"Vanya," Vanya turned her head, "Does the name Peter Michelson mean anything to you?" She took a sharp breath in and nodded.

"He, he's the one who kept asking me out, he plays percussion in the orchestra." 


	8. Memory Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego visits the Academy while Klaus and Vanya talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of sexual assault and description of injuries  
> I have no medical experience

The two (three) Hargreeves brothers were sitting side by side in the hallway. Dr. Mason had already left so she could talk to the head of the rehab program, which left them outside Vanya's room. Diego was curling and uncurling his fingers itching for a knife, he had left all of them in his car. Normally when coming to check out Klaus he had a small one with him to twirl in his fingers, but not this time. This time he wasn't waiting for Klaus to wake up from one-to-many drugs. This time he was waiting for his friend to finish talking to his little sister (who thinks they hate her), about being attacked and, and raped. God, just thinking that made Diego's skin crawl.

He glanced at Klaus, he should probably say something about him going to rehab. Then again, talking about personal or life-changing stuff has never been his forte. Diego still felt he had to try.

"Do you think it will stick?" He grimaced, not the best way to start, but Klaus didn't seem to mind. He just scoffed shaking his head.

"I have no idea." And god, wasn't that the truth. Diego had seen Klaus and others try, over and over again to get him clean. There was only one person who came close, but Ben was gone and any attempt after always ended with him back in the constant drug and alcohol-induced haze. Diego learned along time ago to stop hoping for the day when Klaus became clean, it hurt too much to even get that thought in his head. Though, for the first in a long time, that hope was back. He tried to squash it, not wanting to feel that aching disappointment that settled in his bones for days but no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't go away. He should probably say something else, but Eudora was opening the door. Both men got up, Diego holding Klaus so he wouldn't dart into the room, and waited for what she had to say.

"I have got to back to the station, report what she remembers." Eudora looked tired, that rarely happened. Even working 48 hours straight with nothing but caffeine keeping her awake, she never looked as exhausted as now.

"What does she remember?" Inquired Diego, Eudora only shook her head.

"That's for her to tell you, but what I will tell you is that she shouldn't be alone right now." Klaus took this as his cue to shake off Diego and head into the room. Diego made to follow him, but looked back at Eudora and opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head.

"I know you have questions, but now isn't the ti-" "Something's bothering you." "This whole case bothers me," "It's not just that" "Diego, no" "Eu," She looked at him.

"What's wrong?" A moment of silence passed before she spoke.

"The suspect in custody, I told her his name. She knows him. She works with him and he's been giving her problems for about a year now." Diego looked down and let out a quiet swear. "That's not all," He looked back up, "She thinks there might have been two of them." That struck Diego cold, he tried getting words out, but Eudora went on before he could, "I'm not going to say anything else Diego. I know you want answers, but don't push her. She'll tell you when she's ready." With that she turned and walked off, leaving Diego in the hall. He took a deep breath, then another, and walked into the room.

Klaus was back in the chair beside the bed, but he wasn't holding onto Vanya's wrist. He seemed to be questioning if that would be ok, or cross a line. Vanya on the other hand didn't acknowledge either of her brothers. Her face was turned, so Diego could only see the eye that couldn't open, was she awake? A glance at Klaus told Diego he didn't know either.

"Vanya?" No response. Diego walked up next to Klaus, "Vanya?" His fingers brushed against her wrist. It jerked and moved away from his touch, which sent a wave of anger through him. Not at Vanya, mind you, but at who did this to her. Diego remembered Vanya leaning into any sort of physical contact as a kid, no matter how fleeting. He swallowed his anger, now was not the time for it. "Vanya?" He tried again. This time she turned and looked at him. Well, not at him, more through him. As if she wasn't even fully aware he was there. Diego also notice tears were running down her face and that threatened to send the anger boiling over, but for once in his life, Diego held it back.

"I need to go. I'm gonna talk to Mom and Pogo about getting in touch with Allison and Luther," No response again. "I shouldn't be gone longer than an hour. Klaus is gonna stay with you." Diego tried catching her eye, but she turned away before he could. He sighed, squeezed Klaus' shoulder, and walked out the door.

Back in his car, Diego let out all the rage he was feeling by pummeling the steering wheel. When done, he took in a shaky breath and wiped away tears that were threatening to fall. He couldn't break down, he had something he needed to do. With that in mind, Diego pulled out of the parking lot and sped away.

When the Academy came into sight Diego drove past, not wanting to park in front. Instead, he pulled around the corner before getting out. Diego wasn't going to walk through the front door, he was going in through the kitchen. It was the only discreet way in, minus the fire escape, but Diego didn't feel like climbing up that. After picking the lock, Diego opened the door cautiously, looking around. The room was empty. Diego sighed, he hoped Mom would be in the kitchen. He began his search, looking in Pogo's room, Mom's charging station, the foyer, hallways, childhood bedrooms. Nothing. A thought struck him, there were two rooms he hadn't checked.

Five's room was located a floor above them, no one knew why he was kept separate, dad never shared the logic behind it. The door was closed and when looking inside, it seemed that mom had just cleaned. There wasn't a speck of dust on anything and no mom. That left one room.

Diego walked downstairs. No one questioned why Ben was a floor beneath them, with the horror, it seemed obvious. To Diego's surprise, the door was open, and two voices were floating from inside.

"You know he isn't coming back, Grace." Pogo

"I know, but he always kept his room clean and neat. In a way, it seems he's still here." Mom. Diego looked inside and his breath got stuck in his throat. Mom was making Ben's bed as if he had just forgotten to do it that morning before leaving on a mission. Pogo was watching her with his back to Diego, he sighed shaking his head before turning around and catching sight of Diego. He jumped, startled before speaking.

"Master Diego?" Mom turned around, face brightening when she saw him.

"Diego!" She walked forward pulling him into a hug. Diego held onto her, to him, this meant safety. Pogo shuffled forward studying his face.

"Something happened." It wasn't a question. Diego nodded, Mom pulled back and looked at him.

"What's wrong dear, you can tell me anything you know that." He opened his mouth, closed it again while looking down. He took a shuddering breath before speaking.

"I need to te-tell you something." Diego grimaced, now wasn't the time to stumble across words. He tried to continue before a sharp voice echoed across the hallway.

"Then in god's name spit it out, boy." Diego froze, he hated that voice, it grated every nerve in his body. "It must be important seeing as you broke into my house, Number Two." He turned and looked behind him, coming face to face with the one person he was trying to avoid.

Reginald. Fucking. Hargreeves.

* * *

The machines and monitors in the room were the only noises that could be heard. Vanya was silently crying in her bed, while Klaus was sitting on her left. Ben was to the right of her, she didn't know that, but Klaus wished she did. He would occasionally glance at Ben but he kept looking at Vanya as if he was trying to somehow will himself into a living existence and let Vanya know he was still there. Christ Klaus wished that could happen.

"You should talk to her." Klaus looked up. Ben had turned his gaze to Klaus, who raised an eyebrow silently asking ' _About What?'_ He didn't exactly have the best stories to tell.

"Tell her about the time you pranked Luther after that mission in Italy." Ben was smiling, so was Klaus. He remembered those two days. Dad had lectured Ben about not unleashing the Horror when he was told to, and by default, Luther had also lectured him about not following dad's orders. Ben had become so withdrawn he wouldn't speak to anyone, and Klaus made it his personal mission to get Ben to smile before they left. They had to stay a few days for a meeting with the prime minister, something about an award and shit. What no one but Allison knew, was that Klaus had two bottles of hair dye stuffed in his bag, one orange and one purple. He smirked, if there was one story to tell his deeply traumatized sister, it would be this one.

"Hey did I ever tell you about that time I mixed hair dye in Luther's shampoo?" Silence "It was after that one mission in Italy when we, I have no clue what we were really doing, to be honest. Anyway, we had just turned fifteen and got summoned on a mission. Overall success if I might add, but not according to dad, of course. You see, he told Ben to use his power, but he didn't." He noticed Vanya's head had shifted towards him. "It was fine though, no one was hurt, Diego and Allison took care of the bad guys. Dad was still pissed, he tore into poor Benny about not following orders, and Luther did too. The little ass-kisser he was just wanted to suck up to dad." Klaus let out a small chuckle at that. Vanya hadn't moved, but Ben was looking at him with encouragement.

"We had to stay after for a few days, something about the Prime Minister and some PR bullshit. Ben wasn't too happy about staying, he wanted to go home and curl up with a good book like normal, but he couldn't. And in between the mission and the dad-Luther shitty tag-team, he was pretty gloomy, so I decided before we got home, I was going to make Ben crack the biggest smile on his face. So when everyone was asleep, I took out two mystery items from my bag and mixed them in with Luther's shampoo. Can you guess what the mystery items were?" He wasn't expecting a response, so it shocked him when Vanya quietly whispered,

"It was hair dye wasn't it?" Both brothers looked at her in astonishment, then broke out into the biggest grins their faces could manage.

"Yeah," Klaus laughed "It was the purple and orange ones Allison and I had planned on using! When we got up the next morning, Luther was the first to shower, and when he came out," Pause, the dramatic effect was important, "It had looked like he had wiped shit all over his hair! He was ranting and raving, all of us were shocked until Ben let out a laugh! I think that shocked us more, he normally laughed in private about pranks. Then again we had just woken up so he was probably still half asleep." Vanya had turned towards him fully but wasn't quite looking at him, Ben was still looking on with encouragement and Klaus continued.

"Dad came in to find out what the noise was about and stopped short by the sight of his Number One with shit-stained hair and Ben busting his gut laughing! All of us had joined in at that point with dad's face turning as red as a tomato! He demanded what had happened and had us empty out our bags, but I was smart. I didn't put the bottles in my bag, I had left them in Luther's! I didn't know it was possible for dad's face to turn redder!" Klaus had caught a small smile creeping along Vanya's face and he counted it as a win.

"But wait! There's more!" She glanced at him, then back at the wall. "There was no way to turn Luther's hair back, so he had to shave it! And that didn't do anything helpful! The dye had stained his head, so with the hair gone it still looked like smeared shit!" Klaus was full-on laughing, what shocked him though was that Vanya was letting out little huffs of laughter! He silently cheered, looking over at Ben who gave him a thumbs up. He knew this wasn't an easy fix, but he'll be damned if this wasn't a small victory.

"I remember reading about that mission, Luther's head was shaved in the picture. I didn't know what happened to it." Vanya had a small smile on her face as if she found the answer to a long-kept secret. 

"Yeah, when we got to the Minister's place one of the makeup ladies from a news crew had to cake makeup on his head so it would look slightly normal on camera." They were both laughing now. Though it quickly stopped when Vanya started holding her side with a grimace. Klaus looked on with concern as her face contorted into pain.

"Are you ok?" She nodded.

"Cracked ribs. Probably shouldn't laugh too hard." Klaus looked at Ben, who shook his head. Neither of them knew about that.

"I didn't know, sorry." Vanya shook her head.

"You didn't break them, Klaus, it just needs to heal." Her face fell back into one of sadness like she just remembered why she was lying in a hospital bed. Ben looked at her with watering eyes. Klaus started to say something, but Vanya beat him to it.

"Why are you here Klaus?" He didn't know how to respond, "You hate hospitals, why are you here?"

"Why am I? Why am I here? I'm here for you. That's the whole reason I came here was to check up on you, see if you were ok." Klaus had put as much sincerity into his voice as he could manage. Vanya didn't look at him. Klaus felt like he was quickly losing what little ground he had gained in the past few minutes.

"Why?"

"I just answered that"

"I'm just," She let out a frustrated sigh, "You don't need to be here for a mess I got myself into." Klaus gaped at her, mess she had gotten herself into. She didn't think... The look Ben was giving him meant she was.

"Vanya," He waited till she was looking back at him. "You don't think what happened was your fault, do you." She looked away. No, no, nopity nope nope no! FUCK NO! He was not letting this take root!

"Ok first things first, Vanya you need to know right now that anything that happened was not on you," She had opened her mouth to object but Klaus cut her off, "Did you consent?"

"What? No I, I didn't. I don't really think I knew what was going on."

"And that's why it's not on you."

"Klaus," She started, "I knew-" "I'm gonna stop you there. It doesn't matter if you knew who did it before what happened or not. You didn't consent. It's on the bastard who hurt you. The bastard and the bastard only." Vanya looked at him, she was crying again.

"And I will continually remind you of that. Hell, when Diego gets back he will too. This sure as hell wasn't your fault." Klaus was panting slightly. God he hoped he did that right. Vanya let out a sob and curled towards him. Klaus placed his hand nervously on her wrist, she flinched slightly but didn't pull back. Ben was smiling sadly, watching over the two.

There was still a long way to go. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was long, sorry.


	9. Asshole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego gets pissed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of sexual assault, description of injuries.  
> Reginald Hargreeves is an asshole.

The room was tense with Reginald and Diego seemingly having a stare-off, neither saying anything. Mom's hand was on his shoulder and he could hear Pogo shifting behind them, god Diego wanted to leave.

"Well?" Huffed Reginald. "Speak Number Two, we're not in the mood for guessing games!" Diego tightened his jaw and turned away from his father instead facing mom and Pogo, he hadn't come to tell him. Mom's smile was still the same and Pogo was looking at him curiously.

"Vanya's in the ho-hospital." Mom's smile faltered and her eyes flickered, processing what was said. "She got attacked last night and was brought in early this morning." Pogo looked down squeezing his eyes shut, then looked back at Diego as if he was going to ask something, but Reginald cut him off.

"Yes, I got the call this morning about Number Seven's predicament." Diego snapped towards him.

"You knew." It wasn't a question. "You knew and didn't do anything?"

"What would you have liked me to do?" Reginald scoffed, "Visit her? You and I both know Number Seven wouldn't want that."

"Did you tell Luther?" 

"Why would I tell Number One? It would distract him from his mission."

"SHE'S HIS SISTER! Don't you think he would at least want to know what happened to her?" Diego's voice was raised as he tried stepping towards his father, but Mom's hand had moved to hold his.

"It was not an attack against The Academy so he does not need to know."

"Doesn't need to-" Diego shook his head, "It was an attack on his sister. Luther needs to know about that, a-a-an-and make his own decision about what's more im-i-imp-important." Reginald regarded him coldly,

"And we both know which one he will choose." With that, his father turned out of the room, and it settled into an uneasy silence. After taking a few deep breaths, Diego turned to Mom and Pogo.

"Did you know?" Both shook their heads. He let out a shaky breath, "Do you know how to get in touch with Allison?"

"Yes, I have her number written down, would you like me to call her?" Pogo looked up at him.

"No, I'll call. T-Tell her what happened." With that, Pogo nodded and stepped out of the room, but stopped, turning back to him.

"Will Miss Vanya be alright?"

"I hope so." Pogo nodded again then left. Diego turned back to Mom and moved to hug here again. 

He was angry, pissed beyond belief, but also worried and scared. He was worried for both his siblings back at the hospital and scared he wouldn't be able to get them through this. Mom was hugging him back and for a moment, he felt like everything was going to be ok. The feeling only lasted for a second though. Mom let go, studying his face.

"When's the last time you slept Diego?" He tried to think, it seemed long ago. Diego just shrugged his shoulders. "Make sure you get some, growing boys need lots of sleep! And you're going to need to keep your energy up if you're looking after your sister." She smiled at him, he tried to smile back. It came out more of a grimace than anything. Diego felt the tears that he pushed down coming back to the surface, Mom noticed of course. She placed a hand on his cheek.

"What's wrong dear?"

"I d-do-don't thi-think I c-c-an h-h-he-help her." He squeezed his eyes shut, today kept getting better and better.

"You're there for her, that's a step in the right direction. The rest may take time but, you'll figure it out in the end." Her face glowed at him, then again it always did. Part of the programming he thought. A throat cleared behind them. Diego turned and saw Pogo standing back in the doorway, a slip of paper in hand.

"Miss Allison's number." He held it out to Diego. "I can try to get a message to Master Luther, but I doubt your father will allow it." Diego nodded, Pogo may have provided some comfort growing up, he wouldn't go against what dad said. With one last look at both of them, Diego left the room and made his way outside. 

Once back in his car, Diego gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles had turned white. He knew dad was a heartless asshole, but this seemed to be a whole new level for him. When growing up, he would at least acknowledge that one of his kids was hurt. But then again, Vanya had always been held to a separate standard compared to the others. Hell, Diego could only remember her being seriously injured once. It was a few months after Five ran off, the mission bell had gone off in the middle of lunch. Kids one through six all bolted off to get their uniforms on. Diego was leaving his room when he heard a loud CRASH, coming from the front hall. He had bolted, Klaus on his heels, to see what had happened. He skidded to a halt at the scene in front of him. Vanya was on the ground, with bits of food and shattered plates around her. Ben was trying to help her up while Allison pulled Luther to his feet. Luther was apparently too eager to get going because when he ran to meet dad in the hall, he hadn't noticed Vanya with a stack of dishes in her hands heading towards the kitchen. Dad had just told HER to watch where she was walking, as if she had purposefully dropped everything. When they got back, there wasn't any violin music floating through the house. Ben had asked mom the first chance he got if Vanya was ok, Mom had nodded and said she had a small sprain in her wrist and would need to wear a cast for a week or two. 

Diego sighed, her most serious childhood injury was a sprained wrist, and it was caused by her own brother. Now she was in the hospital, about sixteen years later with too many injuries to count. With another sigh Diego looked at his dashboard, it had barely been thirty minutes. It felt like thirty hours since he walked into that house. As he drove back to the hospital, he thought over what Eudora had said. Vanya would need him. Klaus would need him too. Diego had no idea how to do either. 

When he entered the hospital, Diego went straight for the phone and dialed the number Pogo had given him. After no answer but dial tones, he left a message.

"Hey Allison," What does he say now? "Pogo gave me your number. I need to..." How does he say it? "Vanya's in the hospital. It's, it's not good. She got at-attacked and w-w-w-wa-was... Just call me back when you can." Diego hung up and headed back to his siblings.

Vanya seemed to be asleep, Klaus was holding onto her wrist again. They both looked like they had been crying. 

Diego sighed, he knew this would be hard, but he was going to try his damn best to be there for both of them. 


	10. I'm Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego and Vanya talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention sexual assault, panic attack and injuries  
> I have no medical experience.

She was struggling, she couldn't breathe. There was a snap in her hand and pain flared up causing tears to fall down her face. She couldn't move her legs, there were hands-on her ankles. Her leg burned as white-hot pain trailed down. She couldn't breathe, her side was on fire. Something was ripping, she was cold. She tried screaming. More pain. Pain. PAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPA-

Vanya bolted awake unable to breathe and shaking, everything sounded as if she was underwater. There was a muffled voice next to her, she could also feel a hand on her wrist. That sent her into a panic and she jerked away. Vanya couldn't tell what was going on the noise around her was muffled and her vision was blurry, the only clear noise was the ringing in her ears. She felt another touch on her wrist and she moved away as far as she could. Then she was......

Falling.

Falling.

And hit the ground. There was a dull pain that shot all over her body. For a moment, everything went dark. There was a sound... No, voice. She knew that voice. Vanya tried to focus on who was talking. The voice kept talking, it was calm and familiar.

"-an you hear me? You're safe, you're not there. Klaus and I are both here." Vanya knew who it was,

"Diego?" Her vision cleared and saw that Diego was kneeling in front of her. There was a pain throbbing up her side, it was then Vanya realized that she was laying on the floor. She could feel a chill from the tiles and started shaking. Diego noticed and moved to try to help her up, but stopped himself.

"Vanya?" She looked up at him, "Can I help you up?" Vanya didn't respond. He wouldn't hurt her, Klaus was adamant about the fact that both were here to help her. He made it very clear that both were here because they wanted to be, so with that in mind, Vanya looked at Diego and gave a small nod. His mouth twitched slightly, which was just Diego's way of giving a small smile. He moved slowly so Vanya could see what he was doing. He had gently gripped both her shoulders and moved her into a sitting position. Diego noticed that Vanya was swaying and adjusted his legs so that one was behind her and propped her against it. Vanya slumped into her brother, she felt cold and was still shaking. Diego tentatively put an arm around her shoulder. Movement caught Vanya's eye and saw that Klaus was sitting next to them, holding a box of tissues. He looked down and she followed his gaze, her left arm was bleeding. Vanya could vaguely remember there being an IV. Klaus was looking back at her with questioning eyes and wadded up tissues in his hand, it took a moment for Vanya to realize what he was waiting for. She held out her arm to him, he took it gently and pressed the tissues into the crook of her elbow to stem the bleeding. While Klaus was focusing on stopping the blood Vanya noticed his hands were shaking and his hair was plastered to his forehead. Even though her mind was a little fuzzy, she could recognize the signs, she had seen them often enough from picking up Klaus from an overdose or him showing up at three am outside her apartment.

"Klaus," He hummed a response, "Are you ok?" He looked up at her then back at her arm.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He deflected.

"Withdrawal is starting, isn't it?" Questioned Diego, Klaus huffed and nodded. Vanya weakly gripped his arm with her two unbroken fingers, causing him to look at her.

"Will you be ok?" Klaus was about to answer when three people rushed into the room causing Vanya to flinch back. It was Dr. Mason and two people Vanya didn't know, one was a nurse and the other seemed to be another doctor.

"Are you alright? Joyce heard the commotion and got me as soon as she could." Dr. Mason explained as she approached and knelt down next to Klaus, but made sure Vanya still had space. Mason reached out for Vanya's arm, pausing to look at her asking silently for permission. Vanya gave a small nod and Mason's hands replaced Klaus on her arm, she lifted the tissue to see the damage and looked at it with pursed lips.

"This will need stitches. The IV was how we were administering the pain medicine, so we'll have to give it to you in pill form. Is there any place that hurts?" Vanya motioned down to her leg, it had been throbbing. Dr. Mason checked the bandages before speaking.

"There doesn't appear to be bleeding but I want to take off the bandage just to make sure. Joyce" She turned to the nurse that was standing in the room, "Please go get a suture kit and new bandages."

"Of course Dr. Mason! Be right back!" She sprinted out of the room before she had finished speaking. Mason just shook her head before turning towards the other man in the room,

"Garrett, if you could please step outside for the time being, please? We can talk more later." He only nodded with a look of understanding and stepped outside. Klaus watched the man leave with a pondering look on his face before turning to Dr. Mason.

"Is that rehab guy?" Mason looked at him and nodded.

"Garrett Phelps is the head of our rehabilitation center and programs. He agreed to meet with you to see what would work best for the situation, or at least set up a time to meet." Vanya listened to what was said. Rehab? Klaus was going to rehab? Vanya was happy that he decided to get help but was worried. Klaus was in and out of rehab all his life, why now? Would it work? Would he take it seriously? Would he find a way out of it? Would he disappear before it could start? Vanya's thoughts were spiraling with so much worry that they went all over the place. Would he take drugs the moment he got out? Would he decide it wasn't worth it? Would he leave? Would Diego leave? Would they both decide it wasn't worth the trouble to stay? Would she be alone? She didn't know if she could get through this on her own. She was... She was...

"Vanya?" She snapped out of her thoughts and noticed she was on the bed. How did she get there? She looked up and saw Diego staring down at her, "You with us?" Vanya nodded before looking down. She noticed that her arm was being held and stitched by the nurse that had run out of the room earlier. When had she gotten back? Vanya must have been really out of it since the nurse kept chattering and going on and on about something or other. Vanya wasn't listening, just looked away. 

"There we go all done!" The nurse said happily while wrapping up the bandages.

"Thank you, Joyce, I'll take it from here." She nodded happily and bounded from the room as Dr. Mason sighed. "Joyce normally works in the children's ward but wanted more experience and asked for a temporary transfer. Don't get me wrong she is a good nurse but, in my opinion, has a temperament more suited for the younger patients." The Hargreeves nodded as Mason explained.

"Now Vanya," She turned towards the doctor. "I would like to check your leg to make sure there was no damage in your fall." Vanya glanced down at the long bandage running up her leg and nodded. Mason began to unwrap her leg Klaus let out a wounded noise as he caught sight of it. There was a line of dark stitches running from her knee, curving to the front of her leg and stopping at the top of her ankle. Vanya turned her head and began to breathe heavily. Diego put a hand on her shoulder and Klaus gently wrapped his fingers around her wrist. Dr. Mason noticed Vanya start to panic and made quick work of examining her leg before wrapping it with new bandages.

"All right that's done, there doesn't appear to be any damage which is very good. I'll send someone in with pain medication in about fifteen minutes and we'll go from there." Mason turned to Klaus, "I know this isn't a good time Klaus but would you please talk to Dr. Phelps. It doesn't have to be long, it can just be working out a time to discuss everything." Klaus looked between her and Vanya, looking about to object before Vanya cut in.

"It's ok Klaus," He looked at her "I'll be fine." His eyes darted between her and a blank space next to the bed before sighing.

"Fine, but if something happens come get me." He started pointing at Diego, "I mean it Diego!"

"Ok"

"You better tell me!"

"And I will." Klaus studied Diego before nodding and giving Vanya a small smile before walking out of the room. Dr. Mason followed him out with one last look at the two in the room.

"We'll be right outside if you need anything." And the door was closed behind her. The room settled into silence as Diego and Vanya were left alone, his hand was still on her shoulder and she was looking away from him. Vanya noticed that she was still slightly shaking and saw the blankets tangled at the end of the bed. She was about to reach for them,but then remembered her broken fingers and the cast on her arm. She couldn't get them so she turned to her brother.

"Diego?" He looked at her.

"Yeah?"

"Can you get the blankets?" Diego was confused.

"What?"

"The, the blankets. I can't get them." He understood and stooped down to pick up the blankets. Diego made sure that her cast was above the blankets and they were as far up as they could go before stepping back.

"That good?" She nodded and the room descended into an uncomfortable silence. Vanya didn't know if she wanted to talk, she didn't know what to say. The last time they had an actual conversation was before Ben died. After that, any chance meeting was either a silent acknowledgment or two or three worded sentences, those stopped when the book came out. Any sighting of each other was branded with the trademark of Diego going out of his way to avoid her. When glancing at Diego, she could tell he didn't want to talk. Or so she thought.

"Are you ok?" Vanya looked at him shocked before giving a small nod. "Do you think you could get some sleep?" She shook her head and he sighed. "Vanya, you've been unconscious for hours, it's not the same as being asleep." She was still shaking her head. Diego moved to sit next to the bed "Nothing will happen to you while you're asleep I promise. If you have another nightmare I'll wake you-" "I don't know if it was a nightmare." Diego paused.

"What?"

"I was back there. I don't know if it was a memory or, or, just my subconscious playing tricks on me, but it was what I remember. And, and I don't want to go back there, I-i-i-i can't go back there!" Diego was silent and Vanya kept talking.

"I-i know it-it-it sounds stupid and irrational but I-i-i-i, can't, don't." She started hyperventilating and Diego immediately leaned forward, trying to get her attention without touching her because he didn't know if that would set her further into a panic.

"Vanya. Hey Vanya look at me! It's not stupid or irrational I promise!" That got her attention. "It's not, trust me I know it's not." Vanya turned away from him not knowing what to say. She believed him, Vanya knew Diego spent time in the Police Academy. Vanya looked back at her brother. He didn't know. He didn't know it was her fault. Klaus can tell her it wasn't all he wants, but she doesn't think he's right. She KNOWS he isn't right.

"Hey, Vanya? Don't disappear into your head right now." Diego was looking at her, he seemed worried.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to." Vanya was trying to apologize but Diego was shaking his head.

"Don't apologize, it's just not a good idea to get lost in your head right now. I don't know what you're thinking but by the look on your face whatever it is, it's not good." He was staring at her intensely as if trying to decipher what she was thinking. Vanya turned away she didn't know how to respond. None of this made sense. Her brothers weren't acting on brand. Klaus was willingly going to rehab, Diego was actually talking to her and neither seemed to want to leave. All of this was making her head spin.

"Vanya? When you were asleep, Klaus told me you think what happened was somehow your fault." Oh, he already knew. He was going to tell her she was right, wasn't he? "I'm gonna tell you right that's a load of horse shit." What? She snapped her head towards him. "I had talked to Eudora, she didn't tell me everything. But what she did tell me was that her prime suspect has been bothering you for a while. Vanya, if he did this, it means he was waiting for you outside the theater. If you had waited for a taxi, he probably would've cornered you before anyone got there. This isn't on you. No matter what that asshole says, this isn't on you." Silence descended on the room again, until Vanya started speaking.

"He read the fucking book Diego. He started asking about it. About you, Klaus, Allison, everyone. I didn't say anything about it. He started asking me out and I kept telling him no. Maybe if I had said yes he would've..."

"Vanya he most likely would've kept pushing you." They both looked at each other. Vanya was on the verge of crying again and Diego was nothing but sympathetic. He put his hand back on her shoulder before continuing. "If he was the guy who did this, he kept pushing, and you pushed back to the point he didn't care what the hell you said. He should have backed off the first time you said no but he didn't."

"What if it wasn't him? What if he wasn't even there?" Diego paused before continuing.

"Eudora wouldn't have him in custody without a good reason. Even if he wasn't there, I'm still going to have words with him. Klaus most likely will too." Vanya gave a snort of laughter at that, Diego did too. They both knew that Klaus' main form of attack was jumping on someone's back. 

"You're not going through this alone. Klaus and I are both going to make sure you get through this nightmare." She was crying again, but she believed him. She believed both of her brothers when they told her this. Vanya blindly reached for the hand on her shoulder and gripped it weakly with her unbroken fingers. Diego gripped her hand gently while not trying to disturb the bandages or injuries. They both sat like that for a few minutes. Diego noticed Vanya was starting to nod off.

"Try to get some sleep ok? If I see so much as a twitch I'll wake you up, I promise." She nodded and drifted. Both their hands were still entwined, but Diego didn't shake her off, he was just grateful she wasn't flinching back. He knew that wouldn't go away anytime soon, but the fact that Vanya had initiated some form of physical contact was a step in the right direction. Diego knew that there was still a lot to talk about, but for now, he was fine with holding his sister's hand as she slept. God, he hoped he wouldn't screw this up. 


	11. Oh Siblings Where Art Though?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego and Klaus hear from their siblings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of sexual assault and injuries

Klaus felt like shit. Complete and utter shit. But no one had to know that. Specifically, his current babysitter who was out in the hall. He had been going through withdrawal in the rehab facility for the past six days and today he finally convinced Dr. Phelps to let him sit with his sister. Lewis, the babysitter, was tasked by Phelps to just sit in the hall like a creep and make sure Klaus didn't runoff. He may not like doctors that much, but Klaus had respect for the two he had been interacting with this past week. Both Mason and Phelps were determined to make sure he completed the program and make it past thirty days sober. Too bad the ghosts of the hospital didn't catch the memo. Klaus was running on about two hours asleep and couldn't get the ringing in his ears to stop. His rehab room was home to a ghost who kept screaming about how he wanted out and wanted crack. If that wasn't bad enough, the ghost took to banging his disfigured head against the wall for hours at a time. Ben speculated that was how he died. Ben had been trying his best to get the dead guy to stop, but Klaus insisted he go stay with Vanya. Even if she couldn't see him, Klaus didn't want Vanya to spend a moment alone. These past few days have been hectic.

Diego had spent the first two days crashing on a cot in Vanya's room, splitting his time between both her and Klaus. Though when Vanya found out he had been neglecting his job to stay with her, she told him he didn't need to put his life on hold because of her. Even though Diego told her multiple times that he was doing it because he wanted to, and his boss had told him to take time off, she didn't stop. So by day three, he was working and sleeping at his place, then going back to the hospital as soon as visiting hours started. This was when they noticed something was wrong. Diego was still splitting his time between the two of them, but the rehab place only let Klaus have a specific time for visitors since withdrawal was still happening, so Diego would first see Vanya, then go visit Klaus for the allowed thirty minutes. When he came back on day four, Klaus could tell Diego was worried.

"When I went back yesterday, she asked when I was going to see you." Klaus looked at Diego with a confused expression. "I had left, went back, she didn't notice I'd gone." Klaus shot Ben a look to see if he understood what Diego was talking about.

"She's dissociating, Klaus." He felt his face drop, that wasn't good. Now, Klaus has had his fair share of dissociation, whether due to drugs and alcohol, or some of his... Other, activities. In other words, he knew what that felt like, hell he was used to it. But hearing Vanya was doing it, that just made him hurt. Or was it the withdrawal? Both, most likely both. On day six Klaus felt like he could stand without toppling over, he immediately requested to see his sister. It took about an hour and a half for him and Dr. Phelps to reach an agreement.

  1. No running off.
  2. He can't complain when the time is up.
  3. Stay IN the room unless asked to leave.
  4. Let one of the orderlies go with him.



Klaus was fine with points 1-3, he had the wonderful Ben to make sure he didn't do any of that, but 4 made him feel like he was back at the Academy. Always being watched, making sure he didn't step out of line. Klaus hated it. But, it was the only way he could see Vanya. 

Diego had been shocked when he walked into the room but brushed it off and began speaking.

"I got a call from Al, he needs me to come in. Some assholes broke in when I left and messed shit up. I shouldn't be gone long, hopefully." He turned to Klaus, "You gonna stay with her?"

"Yeah, yeah. Finally managed to convince the Doc to let me see her." Diego gave him a long stare, "I'm not gonna leave. Look I've got a babysitter and everything!"

"What?"

"One of Dr. Phelps terms and conditions. Lewis is sitting in the hall making sure I don't make a mad dash for drugs." He gave a strained chuckle at that, but Diego didn't seem to appreciate the humor attempt. He instead gripped Klaus' shoulder and stuck a finger in his face.

"Anything happens, you call. I'll drop everything and come right back. Got it?" Klaus nodded. Both brothers turned back to Vanya. Klaus didn't think she so much as twitched since he walked in, her face was turned so he couldn't tell if she was awake.

"She hasn't responded to anything. I tried talking to her, she just..." Diego trailed off. It was unnerving. Vanya had always been quiet, but this, this wasn't right.

"Hey, you go on ahead. If anything happens I'll call ok? I promise." Diego gave him a small nod, with one last look at Vanya he walked out the door.

Klaus gave a sigh as he flopped onto the chair by the bed, it squeaked against the floor causing both him and Ben to flinch but got no reaction from Vanya. Ben was looking at her intensely, trying to discern if she was awake, or stuck in her head. It was hard to tell. Klaus had reached out and took her wrist again, hoping it would garner some reaction from her, still nothing. Ben glanced over to his brother,

"Try talking to her." Klaus looked up,

"Diego said he tried-" "But you haven't" They had a stare-off, one that Klaus lost as he huffed and looked back to Vanya. He racked his brain until a hilarious prank came to mind.

"Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I switched Diego and Luther's uniforms?" He launched into his story. Luther, the over-achiever, had hit his growth spurt and immediately towered over the rest of them. Diego hadn't gone through his, so he was about two heads shorter than Luther. Klaus doesn't remember what warranted this prank, he just remembered the outcome. Mom had just given Luther his new uniforms, and Klaus had taken two shirts and two shorts when he was asleep and snuck down to the hall to Diego's room. He had placed the switched pairs between the regular uniforms, Klaus knew it would be a few days before they would be worn, but this was surprisingly one of the few times Klaus was patient. Klaus was almost to the part when Luther would walk down to breakfast wearing a too-small shirt when a knock on the door interrupted him.

"Sorry, don't mean to intrude," It was the extremely bubbly nurse. "But there's a call for her, I just wanted to see if she was awake." Klaus and Ben shared a glance.

"Who called?" Questioned Klaus

"She said she's your sister."

"Allison?" Both brothers were shocked. It had been almost a week since Diego left her a message and they had started to think she wouldn't call.

"Yes! Would you like to talk to her?" Klaus looked to Ben, to Vanya, to the nurse, then back to Ben.

"Do it Klaus, Allison should know what's going on." With that, Klaus nodded before asking,

"Can you stay with Vanya while I talk with our sister? I uh, I don't think she should be alone." 

"Oh, of course. Just let me get you connected and I'll come back in!" If she smiled any wider, Klaus worried her face would split in two. 

He followed (what was her name? Jane? Joan? Jill?) her to the nurses' station where she picked up a phone. With a click of a button, the phone was in Klaus' hand, and (Joy? Jamie? Jackie?) she was off back to Vanya's room. It was then he realized Ben was nowhere in sight, probably still with their sister. Klaus made eye contact with Lewis who was still sitting outside Vanya's room, looking at him with a raised brow. He held up the phone and pointed to it, hoping this wouldn't get him pulled back to the rehab building. Lewis stared, then gave Klaus a nod. With a sigh, Klaus turned and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Allison?" Silence. Klaus began to think she had hung up until there was a sharp intake of breath.

"Klaus?" He let out a laugh before answering.

"Yeah! Yeah, it's me! Hi! It's so good to hear from you!" Klaus could hear his sister snorting on the other end.

"I'm sorry I didn't call earlier. It's just, christ, this week has been one curveball after the other!" He could understand that.

"It's been one hell of a week on both ends huh?"

"Yeah, it sure has been." It grew quiet again. "Klaus, what happened to Vanya?"

* * *

Diego was pissed as all hell. First: He got only about three hours of sleep, second: he left early because he couldn't sleep, third: He forgot to lock the fucking door after he left. That was the exact reason why he was back at the gym cleaning up all the shit that was thrown around. There were weights strewn across the floor, spray paint was on the wall, towels and trash had been thrown across the room. The only good thing was that the assholes who did it were drunker than skunks and had passed out after their fun. Al had walked in on them while they were unconscious and had called the cops. Diego had shown up as they were being dragged off to the station and had gotten an earful from Al about locking the door.

"I get you've got a lot going right now, but you should be able to lock the damn door!" Diego sighed, Al had been going off for the past fifteen minutes. In that time Diego had gotten most of the trash picked up and Al had been scrubbing furiously at the random blotches of red, purple, and yellow spray paint that ran across the walls. Diego was more or less tuning him out at this point. He must have been quieter than normal because Al had stopped yapping and turned towards him. 

"She doing ok?" No answer "Hey Hargreeves!" 

"Yeah Al?" God, he was tired.

"Your sister doing ok?" Diego turned towards him, not expecting that question.

"No. No, she's not." He turned back to the task at hand. Diego could feel Al's stare burning into his back.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Look, I didn't want to call you. But I wouldn't be able to get this shit cleaned up in time."

"You did call me and I'm here so, now the shits getting clean." Diego snapped. He felt a twinge of guilt, Al had gotten him a place to work and sleep, this was the least he could do. They worked in silence for about forty minutes or so. In that time, Al had cleaned off the paint and picked up the towels while Diego had cleaned up the trash, re-stacked the weights and equipment. He had just started mopping the floor for good measure when Al had walked out of the office with an envelope in hand.

"This was in the mail." He held it out to Diego, "Addressed to you." Diego looked at him before taking the envelope. He looked down and took note of the address, it was from the fucking Academy. Diego ripped it open and just about threw it in the trash just from the handwriting alone, it was dad's. Al noticed the way his entire body tensed from just one look at it and asked,

"Your dad?" Diego nodded, "He finally grow a heart?" Diego scoffed.

"Has hell frozen over?" Al walked off with a snort. Diego watched him go before reading the letter.

' _Number Two,_

_The occurrence of Number Seven's injuries has come to Number One's attention. He has now been requesting information about her condition and has been distracted from his mission. To rectify the situation, I expect you to report back to me with an update on Number Seven._

_Sir Reginald Hargreeves'_

Asshole. 

He tossed the letter in the trash and started back on his task. Diego worked for a few minutes before Al came back out.

"I can finish up, you head back." Diego was shocked, "Don't look at me like that! Get your ass out of here before I change my mind." He handed the mop over to all and grabbed his jacket.

"Thanks Al."

"Yeah yeah." Diego raced out the door and jumped into his car. He's pretty sure he broke the speed limit the entire time, it's a wonder he didn't get pulled over.

When Diego reached the hospital, he sighed with relief. He had been gone longer than he wanted. He practically ran up the stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevator. When Diego reached Vanya's room, he noticed that the guy who was supposed to watch Klaus was still sitting in the hall. So Klaus must still be here, good, Vanya wasn't alone while he was gone. In the room, Klaus was rambling about something with his hand holding Vanya's wrist again. One change that was exceptionally welcome was Vanya. She was turned to look at Klaus. She didn't appear to be listening, but it looked like she had at some point. Klaus cut off mid-sentence and jerked his head towards Diego.

"She say anything?" Diego asked, Klaus shook his head.

"I told her Allison called, it was the only thing she really reacted to." Klaus had turned back to Vanya while Diego stood in shock. Allison called. He had given up on the idea that she would.

"Didn't think she would call." Was the only thing Diego said.

"Yeah well, turns out she's in the middle of a custody battle."Klaus responded.

"What?"

"Her husband filed for divorce last week, Kinda surprising the news hasn't been smeared across magazines." Diego nodded at that. A custody battle, geeze.

"I take it she's not gonna fly out anytime soon." It wasn't a question, it was a fact. "Oh, and Luther knows." Klaus shot his gaze back at Diego.

"He does? What he say?"

"Well," Diego sighed, "Dad wrote saying that he started asking about Vanya. He also said to give him an update to and I quote ' _to rectify the situation'_ because Luther being worried is distracting him from his mission." Diego scoffed. 

Klaus muttered a quiet ' _prick'_ under his breath. The silence that had descended on the room was broken by a knock on the door, it was the orderly. Diego watched as Klaus' face fell at the realization he had to go.

"That time already huh?" Asked Diego. The brothers turned back to their sister, it appeared as though she hadn't heard anything that was said. Klaus was chewing his lip while staring at Vanya as if hoping she would acknowledge he was leaving. When nothing happened, Klaus let out a sigh before standing up and trudging to the door. He looked back one last time to check if she had moved, but there was nothing. Diego caught his eye and sent, what he hoped was a comforting smile. It felt like a grimace. Either way, Klaus returned it before slipping from view.

Diego slumped into the chair, he was so fucking tired. He felt like he was being pulled in three different directions. He didn't even remember the last time he got a full night's sleep. When Diego was sleeping on the cot those first two days, he mainly watched Vanya. Making sure he would be able to pull her out of a nightmare if one appeared. When he started sleeping back at his place, Diego would get shut-eye for about an hour then he would be pacing the length of the boiler room like a caged animal. With a sigh Diego gently gripped Vanya's wrist, he could feel a steady pulse, it seemed to be one of the few indicators she was actually still alive. 

He was so tired.

Maybe... if he closed his eyes... for a few... minutes...

NO

Diego shook himself awake. She would need him. Vanya needs him. He could sleep when he knew she was ok.


	12. Going Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanya goes home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention sexual assault, injuries and dissociation

Vanya knew her levels of awareness weren't good, she kept losing time. One moment Diego would walk out to visit Klaus then walk back in a second later, saying about an hour had passed. Vanya heard the word dissociation being said at some point, she isn't exactly sure who said it, but she knew what it meant. The past few days have been a blur. She knew Diego had stayed in her room for a few days, she can't be sure how many. Vanya would fall asleep then wake back up with the feeling of someone's eyes boring into the side of her skull. It would take her a moment to remember the only other person in the room was her brother. She wouldn't tell him, but she found it slightly unnerving that he would just watch her while she slept. Though when he had started going back to work, it was then she realized her awareness was slipping through the cracks.

She wouldn't lie and say it wasn't terrifying but felt it was better than the alternative: Remembering. There would be times of silence when it was only her and Diego in the room, that was when she would nod off because of a combination of pain meds and her own exhaustion. Vanya started to get flashes of that night, more details, she didn't remember the faces. And she didn't want to. Even with the possibility that she knew one of her attackers, she didn't want to think of that face haunting her every time she closed her eyes.

Vanya would sometimes catch parts of conversations but not know what they meant.

_'Hasn't responded....'_

_'... can be expected in these situations. She may...'_

_'Medication... since we were kids...'_

_'...anything in her file... still look into...'_

_'... with the pain med....'_

_'... said anything more...'_

_'Call me if she wants to talk...'_

_'... lawyer said he would press charges...'_

_'Vanya, you can't keep doing this'_

' _Allison called, can you believe that Vanny....'_

_'... change of scenery may help. Maybe when she's...'_

There was a hand on her wrist again. Was Klaus here? She remembered that he was there at some point. He also said something about, Allison? That couldn't be right. 

After a few more moments, Vanya noticed that the hand was rough with callouses. Not Klaus. Diego maybe? She managed to open both her eyes, (how long had she been able to do that?) and saw her brother slumped in the chair. His head was being held in his hand, while the other was holding onto her. Was he asleep? He seemed to be asleep. What time was it? The clock above the door read 3:35 and the shadows in the room indicated it was the afternoon. There was a noise to her left. Vanya shifted her gaze and saw Diego running a hand down his face before locking eyes with her. It took a moment for him to realize that she was awake (had she been sleeping?).

"Hey, you with me?" Diego was looking at her, deciphering whether or not she was coherent. Vanya didn't feel like talking but answered with a nod of her head. Diego's face broke out in relief and he gave her wrist a light squeeze. "Good. That's, that's really good Vanya." He cleared his throat before continuing.

"You've been zoning out a lot. Haven't been responding to anything. The only times you really did was when someone came in with your meds, even then you seemed out of it," A pause, "Do, do you know how long you've been here?" Vanya blinked and racked her brain. She couldn't remember. She shook her head. Diego's face fell slightly.

"You were brought in on the thirteenth, today's the twenty-first." Oh, about a week. She didn't think it had been that long. "Do you remember Klaus coming to visit? It was about two days ago. He told you Allison called." Two days? That was...

"Two days ago?" It came out like a broken whisper.

"Two days ago yeah. But you remember him being here?"

"Vaguely. I mean, I know he was here. I just..." She trailed off. Diego squeezed her wrist again before talking.

"It's ok. Dr. Mason said this happens sometimes." That wasn't very comforting. The room descended into silence. Vanya started to drift, the fog in her mind started to settle and cloud her from the rest of the world. Diego must have noticed because the grip on her wrist tightened and he continued to speak.

"Doc had some good news though. She said that you could go home either today or tomorrow." That got her attention, "She wants to talk to you about getting a couple of appointments set up. Some follow-ups and one with a therapist." Vanya was processing what was said. Go home, she could go home. But...

"What about Klaus?" Her voice was croaky and rough.

"What about him?"

"Isn't he in rehab?" Diego seemed relieved that she knew that piece of information.

"Yeah, uh. He's still going through withdrawal and'll have to stay at the facility for a couple of days. After that, well, it's still up in the air whether or not an outpatient program would work out with the situation or if inpatient would be better." Vanya nodded. She knew Klaus' living situation was bad, where would he go when he was let out? Vanya would happily give him her couch if he wanted. But would he stay? Her thoughts started to spiral, worried for her brother. She must have drifted again because she became aware of Diego's other hand on her shoulder and someone else in the room.

"You back with us?" Questioned Diego. Vanya looked up at him, then the other person in the room. It was Dr. Mason. "Doc's gonna look over everything. See if you should stay one more night or can go home today." Vanya gave a nod and Mason took that as permission to approach and start examining her.

She asked standard questions. Are you in pain? Do you feel any obstruction with your breathing? Are you feeling light-headed? etc. etc. Vanya answered the questions and Mason seemed pleased with the answers.

"Everything seems to be in order, but there is one thing I wanted to go over." Both siblings looked at her. "Diego had mentioned you have been on medication for most of your life. We have been giving it to you, but have had to reduce the pain medication. We think the mix of the two may have caused the dissociation to be so worrying. When you go home, I suggest you start with taking only one pill instead of the two, and if you start dissociating this badly again, I want you to stop the pain medication and call immediately so we can change it." She paused, there seemed to be something else she wanted to say, "I am a bit concerned. This medication you've been on is extremely strong, and to much of it can emotional dysfunction. The fact that it says you should be taking two as needed, that shouldn't be necessary."

"What are you saying? That she shouldn't take it?" Questioned Diego

"What I'm saying is, quitting the medication abruptly can do more harm than good. So for now, just take one a day in the morning. When we follow up and you feel like trying to get off the medication we can come up with a plan to wean you off. Safely." 

Both siblings mulled over the information. Thinking back, it sorta made sense. Vanya could remember days where she took about five of her pills and spent the rest of the time in a haze. Not really feeling anything. Those few days were after the confrontation outside of Icarus Theater with Diego. What he had said made her realize her book didn't have the impact she wanted. Vanya hadn't felt much of anything. Diego's yelling had caused a small crowd to gather around them, after he had stormed off, Vanya had pushed her way through the people while simultaneously popping three pills in her mouth. The book had only been out for a little over a month at that point. When she had gotten home, Vanya called her publicist and told them she was canceling the rest of the readings and any other promotional shit that was scheduled. The publicist told her if she did that, her contract would be broken. Which meant she would receive no more money that came from the sales, and Vanya said she was fine with that. The rest of the week was spent in a pill-induced haze. Vanya had canceled her lessons, called in sick to work, and spent most of her time lying on the couch. The only thing she really had energy for was taking the medication. She finally left her apartment when she needed to refill her prescription.

Vanya snapped out of her thoughts when Dr. Mason started speaking.

"Well, that pretty much covers everything. I just want a follow-up scheduled for sometime next week, but other than that, you're able to go home." 

Vanya left room 427 for the first time about an hour later with an appointment scheduled for the twenty-eighth. She was wearing a zip-up hoodie, t-shirt, and a pair of sweats, all Diego's, he had asked if it was ok for him to pick up some clothes from her apartment and hadn't gotten a clear answer from her. Vanya was a tad grateful that he hadn't rummaged through her apartment, even though she was currently swimming in her brother's old clothes. Diego was wheeling her towards the elevator, Joyce was currently walking beside them confirming the follow-up as they approached the elevator.

"So next week will just be checking how long your cast needs to stay on, getting started on physical therapy for your leg. Dr. Mason will probably want more blood work. There may be an x-ray for your ribs, but since they weren't broken and just fractured it probably won't be necessary. She'll also recommend a therapist for you to visit to address the possible after-effects such as trauma, PTSD you know, all the fun stuff." she kept going on until they reached the elevator, and was still talking as the elevator doors were closing. After they closed Vanya commented,

"She talks more than Klaus." She heard Diego let out a laugh.

"Yeah, she does." They each looked at each other with small smiles on their faces.

As they drew closer to the ground floor, Vanya turned back to Diego and asked a question,

"Do you... Do you think we could see him? Before we leave?"

"If you're up for it, yeah. We can see him." Diego replied.

* * *

Both siblings sat in an open room of the rehab facility. The room was a warm beige color with different chairs and tables organized around the room. There were a few others that were visiting patients, low murmurers filled the room as they were talking. The Hargreeves siblings were sitting in silence at a table at the left of the room. Diego turned his gaze towards his sister. Vanya was fidgeting in the wheelchair, her right hand was playing with the zipper of the jacket and her left was resting on the table, she was looking around as if expecting something to happen. It was then Diego realized that this was the most people Vanya had been around since the attack. He reached out and took her hand, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Diego then noticed Klaus enter the room. He looked around for a moment before spotting them, face breaking out into a large smile before he walked over to the two of them. 

"Hey guys! What brings you to my humble abode?" He pulled out the chair next to Vanya and plopped down while simultaneously pushing out the chair next to Diego with his foot as if expecting someone to sit in it. 

"Dr. Mason told me I could go home today, I just wanted to check on you before we left." Klaus looked touched at what Vanya said.

"That's so sweet Vanny. I'm doing good."

"Any idea how much longer you'll be here?" Diego asked,

"Well, they think the worst of withdrawal is almost done, there was talk about doing an outpatient thing, but that flew out the window when I told the Doc I didn't have an address." A forced chuckle left Klaus as his eyes shifted to the empty chair. Diego and Vanya glanced at each other.

"You can put my address down," Klaus jerked his head back at the suggestion, "If if you want. You don't have to if you don't want to. It was only an idea." Vanya looked down embarrassed, she seemed to remember her hand was in Diego's and quickly pulled away, placing it in her lap. Both brothers shared a glance before Klaus started to talk.

"I mean if it's ok with you..." 

"It's if you want to. like I said it's only an idea." Vanya still hadn't looked up and began picking at the bandages on her hand. Klaus scooted his chair closer to her and waited for a reaction. She barely twitched. He reached out and entwined his hand with hers, Vanya looked at him then back down. When she didn't pull away, Klaus rested his head on her shoulder and Vanya rested her head against his.

Diego took this moment to study his siblings, they both looked exhausted. Klaus had bags a mile long under his eyes and kept bouncing his gaze to different points of the room before snapping them shut and hiding his face into the crook of Vanya's neck. Vanya was pale. She was always pale but seemed to be more so now. Her eyes started to look glazed over which prompted Diego to place his hand on her shoulder. She snapped her eyes towards him but made no move to shake him off. The three sat there in silence. Klaus seemed to have fallen asleep against their sister, and she tracing circles into his hands. The minutes ticked by, and none of them had moved. It wasn't until one of the orderlies approached their table that they did. Diego stood up and gently shook Klaus' shoulder, causing him to jerk awake with a wild look in his eyes. He locked eyes with Diego, then saw the orderly standing a few feet away. Klaus physically deflated at the sight before turning back to Vanya.

"Well sis, I gotta go. Things to do, people to see alllllll the good stuff." He flashed her a quick smile, which she returned. Klaus patted her shoulder before enveloping Diego into a hug (which he took with minimal grumbling) before being led out of the room.

"Hey Klaus," Vanya called, he turned back towards her, "You'll be ok?" Klaus gave her another smile,

"Yeah Vanya, I'll be ok." 

They both watched Klaus walk out of sight before Diego turned back to her.

"You ready?" She answered with a nod and with that, he wheeled her out of the hospital.

* * *

The ride to Vanya's apartment was quiet, with the exception of the radio playing softly in the background, Diego managed to find a spot close to the entrance. 

"Hang tight for a moment, I'll grab the wheelchair." He started to get before Vanya stopped him.

"Um, Diego... I live on the second floor." Oh, Diego thought over the situation before turning back to Vanya.

"Alright, uh, ok. Hang on one second." He got out and opened the backseat door, gabbing a small plastic bag and going around to Vanya's door. Diego handed her the bag while explaining his thoughts.

"I'm, probably going to have to carry you. Is that ok?" She looked at him and nodded. Diego helped her out of the car and carefully cradled her to his chest, careful not to jostle her too much.

Diego carried her into the building and up the stairs. He stopped outside her door and sets her on the floor, having her lean against him carefully. Diego motioned towards the bag in her hand. She handed him the bag, reached in, and took out a set of keys.

"How, how did you get my keys?" Vanya questioned,

"Eudora dropped them off this morning." Explained Diego. When he got the door open, they both heard a gasp behind them. 

"Vanya! You're back!" It was an older woman with pepper gray hair and circular glasses. "I was worried! The police were here asking questions the other day. Is everything ok?" He felt Vanya sigh next to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine Mrs. Kawalski." Diego watched the two interact, not knowing if he should intervene. 

"Oh, that's so good to hear!" She clasped her hands together before continuing, "And Vanya, Mr. Puddles seems to have disappeared again if you see him-" "I'll let you know" Vanya said with a tight smile.

"Oh, ok dear. I'll see you later." Both siblings watched her hobble off down the hall to her own apartment.

"Mr. Puddles?" Diego asked.

"Her cat. Anytime her disappears she thinks I'll know where he is." Vanya explained with a sigh. Diego gave a small nod and helped Vanya walk inside. He got her situated on the couch before asking if she would be ok while he got the wheelchair from his car. Vanya nodded and slumped back into the couch. Diego started walking out, but paused, turning back to his sister. She wasn't moving and had her head tilted back towards the ceiling. He gave a sigh and closed the door. Diego hurried down to his car and popped the trunk, pulling the wheelchair out. He closed the trunk and held it under his arm and headed back in. 

On the way up, Diego heard a small noise. He looked down and saw a fluffy cat with a collar sitting on the stairs, looking at him. With a sigh, Diego knelt down, holding his hand out to the cat. It started sniffing him and rubbed its head against his hand. Diego took the opportunity to read the tags around its neck. Mr. Puddles. He let out another sigh as he picked the cat up, tucking it under his arm, and trudged upstairs. He stopped in front of the old woman's door, leaning the wheelchair against the wall, and knocked. There was some shuffling on the other side before it opened.

"Yes? Can I help you?" She caught sight of the cat in Diego's arms and let out a gasp, "Mr. Puddles! You found him thank you so much! I was so worried." She started talking to the cat and Diego took that as a sign to leave. He was picking up the wheelchair when she turned back to him. "I can not thank you enough!"

"It's fine, he was just sitting on the stairs." He shrugged.

"But still, if anything happened to Mr. Puddles I wouldn't know what to do!"

"It was no problem." He started walking towards Vanya's place "Though if you don't mind, I need to head back."

"Oh of course goodbye dear! Let me know if you need anything!"

Back in the apartment, Vanya hadn't moved an inch. Diego looked down at her and came to the conclusion she was asleep. He gently scooped her up and walked to the bedroom at the end of the hall. He placed her on the bed and pulled the covers over her. With one last look, Diego walked back into the living room. With a huff he sat on the couch and looked around, Vanya's Apartment seemed, bare. And that was coming from him, the guy who lived in a boiler room. There was the couch, bookshelf, coffee table, but it was overall devoid of personality. Diego thought with whatever money from the book, she would've at least been able to decorate. He shook his head, now wasn't the time to think about that. Diego leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes, he should probably rest. Get a few minutes of sleep, it had been a long week and the whole thing was no where near over yet. 


	13. Just a Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego wasn't the only brother in Vanya's apartment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of injuries, sexual assault, death and dissociation.

Ben sat with Vanya while Diego was getting stuff from his car. He watched over her as she drifted off to sleep. He watched as Diego came back in and carried their sister to her room. He watched as his brother tucked her into bed like she was a small child. He watched as both of his siblings slept, unaware there was someone with them. He wished they knew he was there. He sighed and walked into Vanya's room, besides the purple and black bruising around her eye, she looked peaceful. God, he wanted to hug her. Her and Diego both. He walked over and sat at the foot of her bed, careful not to phase through her. Ben wished he could do something, anything. But that was impossible, he was just a ghost.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Vanya started twitching. Ben thought he was imagining it at first, but then Vanya bolted upright, gasping for breath. Ben reached out and tried to comfort her, but watched dejectedly as his hands went through her shoulders. He could only look as Vanya covered her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs. It was all he could do. He wished Klaus were here. He would at least be able to tell him. But he wasn't, and Ben was on his own. He could only hope Diego would wake up soon. Ben looked into the hall and saw Diego hadn't moved a muscle, letting out a curse, he turned back to Vanya.

She was hunched over, hair covering her face. Her shoulders were shaking with sobs and strangled noises, Ben was worried that she was about to choke. He couldn't stand by and do anything, but it was the only thing he could do, he could only stand by and watch as his little sister sobbed and cried. He sat in front of her and noticed her right arm was holding her left side, Ben remembered she had cracked ribs and worried that it was causing her pain. Fuck, this was terrifying. Vanya was borderline hyperventilating and Ben was worried she would pass out. Ben started to panic as well, but then he heard something. It sounded, like footsteps? OH THANK FUCKING GOD! Diego was up. Ben watched as he entered to room and rushed to their sister. 

"Hey, Vanya! Hey, hey, hey look at me! Vanya, you need to breathe ok!" Diego reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, only to have her flinch violently away. Ben was semi-aware of the sound of something cracking in the apartment but ignored it in favor of watching his siblings. Vanya was still hunched over but wasn't crying as hard anymore and Diego was next to the bed still talking to her.

"It's ok, you're not there. You're safe I promise." Vanya didn't look up but had stopped crying, Diego was still talking to her, trying to get her to look at him. Ben was watching the both of them, wishing he could help in some way. Diego had his hand on her shoulder again, she had flinched but not as bad. Vanya was still shaking and wouldn't look up. Diego reached over, grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around her.

"Vanya?" She finally looked up with a pale face and red eyes. The bruises on her face weren't making the situation better. "You back with me?" Diego asked, Vanya responded with a small nod. "Anything hurt?" She shook her head, "You sure?" A nod. Ben and Diego studied Vanya, trying to discern if she was lying. Diego must have believed her because he stood up with a quiet, "Be right back," and walked out of the room. Vanya's gaze drifted down and her face contorted into pain, Ben noticed she was still clutching her side under the blanket.

"Damn it, Vanya." Ben sighed, "You should've told him." They sat in silence for a second until the sound of, something came from the kitchen. 

With one last look at Vanya, Ben stepped out of the room to see what was going on. He found Diego standing in front of an open cabinet with some of the cups shattered. What the hell? Both brothers stared at the pieces, dumbfounded, unsure of what to do about the mess. Diego snapped out of it first and reached into the back of the cabinet to grab an unbroken cup. Ben watched as he filled it with water and walked back to Vanya. When they entered her room, they saw she had swung her legs to the side of her bed and had both feet on the floor. Diego rushed towards her,

"Don't try to get up ok?" He handed her the water but had to help her take a drink due to her broken fingers and the fact she was still shaking. Diego placed the cup on the bedside table and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders again, but paused. He noticed Vanya was holding her side.

"Vanya?" She looked at him, "Why are you holding your side?" Vanya gave no answer but a shrug. Ben watched in exasperation at the interaction, wishing he could convince his sister to tell them what was wrong. Diego just looked at her with pursed lips, then he walked out of the room again. Vanya gave no reaction to his departure only looking down at the floor. Ben sat next to her, watching, not knowing what to do. He heard Diego rummaging through the kitchen, and a few seconds later walked back in, holding ice wrapped in a towel as an impromptu ice pack. He walked to Vanya and placed it on her side, moving her hand so she was holding it. Vanya looked up and gave a small nod of thanks before looking back down.

The three siblings were enveloped in silence before Diego moved forward. Ben looked on as Diego picked their sister up and carried her out of the bedroom, she was still wrapped in the blanket. He followed them out to the living room and saw his brother place Vanya gently on the couch. Ben situated himself next to Diego on the coffee table across from their sister, Vanya didn't seem to notice she had been moved.

"You were back there, weren't you?" Asked Ben. His question was met with silence.

"Hey, you with me Vanya?" Diego was leaning forward, trying to catch Vanya's gaze. She looked up and around the room before turning back to Diego and nodded. Both brothers sighed with relief. "Another nightmare?" A nod, "Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head. Ben watched as Diego glanced around the apartment, something caught his eye and he turned back to Vanya.

"Do you think you could eat something? It'd be a good idea if you did." A shrug. Diego stood up and headed into the kitchen, grabbing something off the front of the fridge before returning to his position on the coffee table. Ben peered over his shoulder, it was the take-out menu Vanya kept. Klaus had ordered off of it many times when staying at her place. The brothers scanned the page, deciding what may be a good idea. Diego asking different questions, trying to discern what Vanya would eat. Diego was on the phone about ten minutes later placing the order.

"They said it should be here in twenty-thirty minutes," Diego said, Vanya nodded at that but didn't say anything.

It was an awkward thirty minutes, to say the least. The only time one of them talked was when Diego asked for the now-melted ice pack and poured it out in the sink, they had about fifteen minutes left to go. Both Diego and Vanya were on opposite ends of the couch when there was a knock on the door. Vanya tensed and Diego stood up, a knife in hand. Ben watched as Diego approached the door, and opened it a crack. It was the take-out. Ben let out a sigh of relief. Diego paid, shut the door, walked over to the coffee table, set the food down, and began unpacking it. The food was split between the living siblings, Diego had a carton of noodles and orange chicken while Vanya's had spring rolls, they both had a carton of rice between them.

Ben watched as his siblings ate. Or well, Diego ate, Vanya was nibbling on a spring roll. His gaze was glued to his sister, she had barely moved with her gaze downcast. Ben wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort her. A look at Diego told him he wasn't the only one, but then again, they were Hargreeves. It didn't matter if you were alive or dead, you had no idea how to properly use, interpret or react to emotions. (Thanks dad, you got seven kids and gave them emotional constipation) But Diego should at least try since he was, y'know, alive and could actually interact with their sister.

"C'mon Diego, get your head out of your ass and talk to her!" Ben muttered, kicking at his brother for good measure. As if he could hear him, Diego turned towards Vanya.

"You need to eat more than that." Ben facepalmed, not how he would've done it but ok.

"Not that hungry." Oh, Diego got her talking at least.

"Can you at least finish the spring roll you're holding?" Vanya glanced at him, "I've had to convince Klaus to eat actual food before when all he wanted was something deep-fried and covered in sugar. Trust me, you're not gonna win this fight." Ben had a smirk on his face, Diego has been able to get Klaus to eat an actual meal on multiple occasions. He watched as Vanya looked away and take a bite of her roll. Ben did a little fist bump in the air while Diego smirked and turned towards his own food. Silence once again folded itself around the siblings, though not as awkward or tense. Both living Hargreeves were quietly munching through their food, taking quick glances at each other when they weren't looking. Vanya was halfway through her second spring roll when Diego finished his meal. He glanced over at her while he stacked the empty cartons, taking note of the two untouched spring rolls and an unopened carton of rice, letting out a sigh.

"Think you're gonna have any more?" She shook her head, "Alright, finish the one you're holding, I'll put the rest in the fridge." Diego stood up and grabbed the still full containers and moved to put them in the fridge. Vanya was still nibbling on the roll, her eyes were beginning to droop. Ben shot a look at the clock on the wall. It was after ten at night, Ben had been here almost four hours. He'd stay until Vanya went back to sleep, then go report to Klaus. Diego walked back, readjusting the blanket around Vanya's shoulders before returning to his spot next to her. He waited until she had finished eating before he began to speak. 

"It's getting late, you should get some sleep. Think you can do that?" Their sister was staring at the floor again and was worrying her lip between her teeth. Ben was worried she was going to object but sighed in relief when she nodded. It was slow going getting back to the bedroom, Vanya was still buried in the blanket couldn't walk, and they also stopped at the bathroom so she could brush her teeth. When they reached the bedroom, Diego reached over to turn the bedside lamp on, only to have pieces of the light bulb fall across his hand. The siblings stared in shock, with Diego turning to their sister.

"Where the hell do you get your shit from?" She looked at him puzzled, "Other than this, half your glasses are shattered in the cabinets." Vanya's only answer was that her spare bulbs were in the hall closet. Ben just wondering if anything else in the apartment was broken and began to scope out the rest of the apartment. From what he could tell, the only things that had broken were the light bulb and glasses, but that was all he could see without phasing through anything. When he walked back to his siblings, Diego had already replaced the broken bulb and Vanya was wrapped up to her chin with blankets.

"Try to get some sleep ok? I'll be in the other room if you need anything." Vanya nodded at Diego and nestled deeper into her blankets, closing her eyes. Diego looked down at her before turning and going back out to the couch. Ben stayed in the room until Vanya's breathing evened out and he was sure she was asleep. He turned and walked to the other room, intending to check on Diego before he went back to Klaus. 

His brother was slouched over, arms resting on his knees with his head down. It looked like Vanya wasn't the only one who needed sleep, but it seemed like Diego was determined to stay awake. Ben watched as Diego stood up and walked to the windows, turning off the light as he went. Diego just, stood there, watching the street below in the darkness of the apartment. As if waiting for something to happen. Ben wanted nothing more than to slap him upside the head and drag him to the couch so he could sleep. Even if he were alive he doubted he would be able to do that. With a sigh, Ben walked out of the apartment and down the street back to Klaus.

* * *

Klaus was asleep by the time he got back which was a very good thing. The ghost in his room was still screaming and wailing, but in between the blankets and pillow shoved over his head, Klaus seemed to have blocked him out enough to get some shut-eye. Ben looked over at the ghost, he had started banging his head against the wall again. With a sigh, Ben put his hands on the ghost's shoulders and shoved him towards the door.

"What the hell was that for man?!" The ghost screeched.

"You need to keep it down, Klaus is trying to sleep!" Ben explained

"I don't care! I WANT OUT!"

"THEN GET OUT!"

"I CAN'T I'VE BEEN LOCKED IN HERE!"

"YOU'RE DEAD! YOU CAN LEAVE WHEN YOU WANT!" That gave the other ghost a pause and enough time for Ben to shove his dead ass through the door. 

"See, you're out. You can leave if you want." 

"Where am I supposed to go?" Ben paused, unsure how to answer.

"Anywhere you want I guess." When the ghost didn't reply, Ben walked back through the door. He sat on the floor near Klaus' bed and looked over at his brother and was shocked to see his eyes open.

"Vanya doing ok?" He asked

"She was asleep when I left and Diego was playing guard dog." Klaus nodded at that.

"Thanks," Ben looked back at him

"For what?" Klaus shrugged.

"Getting the dead guy out, telling me about Vanya. Despite that emo ', I don't care' exterior, you're just a mushy person with a big heart." Before Ben could reply Klaus shoved the pillow back over his head. Ben just huffed and smiled. Klaus may be a pain in the ass, but he was Ben's pain in the ass. Ben was just glad that he could at least help one of his siblings.

He was still just a ghost after all. 


	14. Light bulbs and Lineups

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why are your bulbs so shity?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of sexual assault, injury and dissociation

The three (four) siblings fell into a tentative schedule for the following weeks. Klaus was in the final stages of withdrawal and was getting ready to start the outpatient program that the facility provided. It took a few conversations but Vanya assured Klaus that if he wanted, she wouldn't mind if he put her address as a place of residence. Both brothers agreed that it would be easier for Klaus to stay with Vanya so Diego would be able to keep up with his (legal) job. He seemed to be taking a break from his late-night vigilantism, for the moment. It seemed to be going well for the siblings.

Vanya had blood drawn at her follow up and the results of both tests for STDS and pregnancy came back negative, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off of Vanya's shoulders. She had cried in relief when sitting in Diego's car as her brother watched on, unsure of how to react. But her recovery was far from over. Her left hand was finally released from its bandages a week after the follow-up, but her middle finger had to be put in a splint for another two weeks. Vanya's ribs were still cracked but were overall healing well and the bruising on her face had faded to lighter shades of purple mixed with ugly pigments of yellow. Her leg and right arm were another story. The cast was still there and would need to stay for four more weeks while her leg, well. The knife had torn through muscle and chipped the bone. Since the chip was small, it wasn't originally caught by the doctors until Vanya had mentioned the thrumming pain that would pulse through her and how it wouldn't stop unless she had taken the prescribed pain killers. An X-ray was quickly called for and discovery was made, the chip had turned into a fracture across her tibia bone, a cast was placed on her leg immediately with another follow-up scheduled. When Diego and Vanya visited Klaus after the cast was put on, he demanded the right to draw on it the moment he was released, which Vanya agreed to. Only if what he drew was within reason. 

Though Vanya was healing physically, her mental state was constantly going up and down. There would be days she could hold conversations with Diego, having small talk or saying whatever came to mind. She would crack jokes and snapped back when her brother was acting like a dumbass. To say Diego was surprised at this, would be an understatement. (Was she always like this? Had he just never noticed?) Vanya would give full smiles and laugh loudly at Klaus' antics instead of shying away or the small, uncertain half-smiles she would normally hand out. One of the biggest surprises for the two (three) brothers was when she would initiate physical contact. It started small with her squeezing Diego's hand when he placed it on her shoulder and her gripping Klaus' wrist when he hung onto her's. It grew to her accepting an arm around her shoulder, but Vanya had made it clear that she wasn't quite ready for full-on hugs yet.

But with every step forward, there would be a step back.

Some days, she was quiet. She would stare off and not respond. Some days Vanya recoiled so violently away from her brothers they were afraid she would fall out of the wheelchair. On those days, she flinched at every noise. (Neither Klaus nor Diego would notice that the bulbs, glasses, and mugs around the apartment would only shatter and crack at these times, but Ben was starting to connect the dots.) Diego and Klaus wouldn't be able to get her out of bed without having to physically carry her from one room to the other, and they were worried because it seemed like they'd have to force food and medication down her throat. They hated doing it, but they had made a promise to see her through to the end, this was sadly one step they had to take. Both brothers would try their best to get her to talk, Klaus would tell stories from their childhood or from a recent time on the streets (He always asked Ben which ones would be appropriate for the situation.) Diego normally let Klaus be the one to talk with her, but Klaus has caught him on multiple occasions sitting next to Vanya, murmuring softly to her. 

What surprised the brothers was that even on bad days, she still answered the phone when Allison called. Allison had been getting updates from the brothers about Vanya's condition and had taken it upon herself to call at any moment she could. (Diego had to tell her she didn't need to call every five hours.) When Vanya was released from the hospital, Allison left a message on her machine,

"Hey Vanya, it's Allison. I'm sorry I can't be there right now, but if you need anything, or just want to talk, please call me?" It was after the follow-up that Vanya did. Both sisters talked for about fifteen minutes before the call ended. It became a routine that Vanya or Allison would call in the evening and the two would just, ramble. Saying whatever came to mind. It started with just the two of them, but on occasion, Vanya would have the phone on speaker for Diego and Klaus to talk with their sister. It was about three weeks after the calls had started that Allison broke the cycle. She called at 11 AM and was crying hysterically.

"He, he got custody. I lost Claire! Oh god, what did I do?!?!" It took about an hour for Diego, Klaus, and Vanya to calm her down. She told them of the monthly court-mandated therapy that was decided upon and the no visitation rule imposed upon her. A few moments later, she told her siblings about her greatest mistake and biggest regret.

"I rumored her."

The three of them froze. Vanya remembered a passage she had written in her book.

'... _Used her rumors to get what she wanted and seemed to have no remorse whatsoever of the consequences. Our dad never seemed to care how it was used on us, as long as she didn't use her rumors on him. My sister's abuse of power was almost always consequence free'_

The call ended a few minutes after their sister's confession, and Vanya's fingers twitched, itching for one of her pills as the sound of the dial tones filled her ears.

Vanya knew her sister had used her power on the siblings, but to hear she used it on her own daughter...

The lamps in the living room burst.

* * *

To say Diego was confused was an understatement. He was slumped against the window and had a blanket placed over him. He remembered sitting down after cleaning up the shattered bulbs and lamps but after that... Did he fall asleep? Where were Vanya and Klaus? Diego stood up, stretching out his arm, and looked around the apartment. Vanya's keys were still in their place and Klaus' stupid patchwork coat was still thrown haphazardly across the back of the couch. It seemed they were still here. He walked past the empty kitchen and towards the bedroom. He could hear harsh whispers coming from behind the door. A look inside showed both Klaus and Vanya sitting across from each on her bed.

"This is an utter betrayal! By mine own sister at that!" Klaus seethed,

"Klaus..."

"I am outraged! That you would do this to me!"

"Jesus christ..."

"DER VERRAT! DIE UNTREUE! DIE PREISGABE!" Vanya sighed,

"I don't know German Klaus."

"I will never forgive you for this!"

"Just draw the cards, Klaus!" Diego watched as Klaus glared at Vanya, slowly reached forwards, and picked up four cards from the deck in between them. 

"What color?" Muttered Klaus.

"Yellow." His brother groaned while simultaneously flopping backward on the bed, dangerously close to the edge. Vanya was letting out small giggles and gripped Klaus' leg in an attempt to keep him from toppling over. Diego stepped fully into the room, gaining the attention of his siblings.

"I'm sorry," Vanya said between giggles, "Did we wake you up?" He shook his head before asking,

"How long have I been asleep?" Vanya shrugged as Klaus turned towards him.

"This is our... fifth? Fifth! Game of Uno? So who really knows! All aspects of time have disappeared! There is only Uno! And cold-hearted betrayal!"

Diego didn't respond to his brother's antics and just circled the bed to sit next to Vanya, making sure to be mindful of her leg. He peered over her shoulder to look at her cards.

"Are you ok?" Questioned Vanya, he shot her a look before turning back to the cards.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Both of his siblings looked at him, "What?"

"You, mein bruder, were out like a light." Cackled Klaus.

"What?"

"Um, let's just say Klaus dropped a few things. Because he wanted to see if it would wake you up..." Diego stared at Vanya.

"And you let him?" She shrugged

"It's not like I could stop him at the moment." Oh, Diego glanced down at her leg. "And it wasn't anything breakable, so it's not too bad." Vanya shrugged again and Klaus began to snicker. Diego had a feeling there was something they weren't telling him.

"But..."

"The lights in the kitchen shattered!" Klaus giggled, "Vanya jumped so hard the wheelchair hit the table!" He was full-on cackling, "And you didn't even twitch!" With a sigh, Diego turned to his sister,

"Did he clean the mess up?" 

"He was. Then he got distracted by Uno cards and then we started to play." Diego ran a hand down his face in exasperation.

"You have the shittiest lights in existence Vanya." Klaus was nodding in agreement.

"Ok, look this is the first time I've had this problem." She retorted, putting down a yellow six on the pile. "I don't know why it's happening, but at this rate... Between hospital bills, rent and the lights, I'm most likely going to be bankrupt at the end of the month." Shit, Diego hadn't thought of any of that and looked over at Klaus. By the expression on his face, he hadn't thought of that either. Vanya noticed the tense atmosphere that had settled across the brothers and quickly backtracked.

"I'll be fine though, just need to wait until I get the cast off. Probably be able to get back to work then." She said shrugging. Diego made eye contact with Klaus before speaking,

"Don't you have a bank account that Pogo set up?" He asked

"I mean yeah, I just, hadn't really used any of it before." Diego nodded at that. Pogo had set up accounts for all the Hargreeves children who left the house and still ends money to it every month. But it was DAD'S money. Diego made a point to not touch a cent, still hasn't to this day. Vanya seems to have followed that line of thinking.

"What about book money?" Klaus questioned and Vanya seemed to freeze.

"What?" Her voice had cracked in the middle of the word.

"You know, the money from your book?" He continued, drawing a card from the pile and making a face at it. "Figured you'd have moved out of this place with whatever you earned from it." Klaus let out a strained chuckle before glancing at an empty spot by Diego's head. Diego shot Klaus a look but was curious at the same time.

"I uh..." She cleared her throat before continuing, "I broke my contract with the publisher about a month after it came out." Oh, out of all the answers Diego came up with, this was not one. He watched her as she placed down another card before looking down at her leg, seemingly studying the swirling patterns that Klaus had drawn on the cast as if it was the first time she'd seen it. Diego caught Klaus' eyes, it was clear he hadn't thought of her doing that either. Klaus' eyes snapped back to the empty spot before looking back his cards and sighed.

"Why'd you have to pick yellow Vanny? Is this some cruel form of torture?" Diego looked as he pulled out another card and glanced at Vanya, hoping that she hadn't withdrawn inside her mind. He sighed in relief when she put down another card, she hadn't gone too far in. Diego watched his siblings play for another few minutes before the silence was broken by a knock on the door. Klaus looked up as Vanya tensed, he squeezed her shoulder before answering the door. The sight of Eudora and Beaman is what greeted him once it was open. 

* * *

Vanya was sitting in a small room with three other women at the precinct. Apparently, DNA from her rape kit had matched three other cases. Both detectives had talked to the women and managed to get a description of the man, which lead them here. The lawyer had demanded a lineup in order to prove that they had the wrong man. She drummed the table nervously with her fingers, Vanya's memories of that night still weren't completely clear, and was worried she would mess it up for everyone, she wished her brothers were allowed back with her. She could feel the gazes of the other women on her, making her even more nervous. The door opened and Detective Patch walked in.

"We're all set up." Vanya didn't know what happened next. Was there an order that they had to follow? Did they just volunteer who goes first? "Monica? If you could follow me please." She watched as the tall, lithe woman followed Patch out of the room. Vanya waited and waited. Then she was the only one left in the room. She was anxious, jittery, and nervous. The door opened again as the Detective walked back in.

"Vanya? Are you ready?" She gave a timid nod and took a shuddering breath.

She was wheeled into a dark room with a window facing a blank wall. The only people on her side of the glass were Detective Beaman, Detective Patch, two officers she'd never seen and herself. Vanya was positioned in front of the glass and watched as a group of five men walked in. They were all around the same height, but their faces' were different. One was angular while another was fuller, there was a hooked nose, green eyes, blue eyes, crooked nose. It got overwhelming for a moment. Vanya closed her eyes, took in a deep breath before looking again.

She studied their faces, but she kept going back to the man who was holding the number 1 in front of his chest. His hair was black and greasy with pale green eyes. The man was tall, about Klaus' height but was built more like Diego. What caught her attention was the bruising on his hand, it started to spark a memory...

_He had her legs, she managed to get one free. The man started cursing but didn't make to grab her leg again. Vanya took the opportunity to ram the heel of her right foot onto the hand that was holding onto her left leg. He cursed again before grabbing her leg... She felt burning hot pain race down her leg. They were arguing, the man in front of her reached out grabbing her shirt and ripping it... She was on the ground... she was... She was..._

"Vanya?" She jerked, looking up. Detective Patch was looking at her concerned. "Do you need a minute?" Vanya shook her head, looking one more time before speaking.

"One..." She cleared her throat. "It was number 1."

Vanya was quickly wheeled from the room. Diego and Klaus had been sitting by the main entrance waiting for her. They both jumped up, Klaus fluttered his hands around her, unsure if physical touch would be ok. Diego knelt in front of her.

"You ok?" Vanya looked at him before lurching forwards, gripping him weakly, and burying her face into his shoulder. She felt him place his arms loosely around her back, and Klaus' hand on her shoulder. 

"You ready to go home?" Klaus asked, she responded with a weak nod.

"Alright come on," Said Diego as he began to pull away. "Lets get you home."

Eudora Patch watched as the three siblings exited the precinct from her desk. Diego turned and looked back at her, she gave him a small nod that he returned. He turned and escorted his siblings outside, him wheeling Vanya, while Klaus had yet to remove his hand from Vanya's shoulder.

"Maybe we should get donuts? What do you say Vanya? Donuts" She gave a small smile at Klaus before nodding. Klaus turned to Diego while proclaiming, "You heard the lady Diego! To Griddy's!" Diego shook his head and laughed but drove to the donut sanctuary from their childhood. God knows Vanya will need some form of comfort food after what happened. 


	15. Ghost Brother and Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Court date is set, Diego sees a familiar face and Vanya tells her brothers what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of sexual assault and injury. Suicidal actions mentioned  
> I will be talking about what happened in the incident during this chapter, and there will be details. If that upsets you, skip past until the paragraph of italics ends to continue the story.

It was two days after the lineup when a knock came at the door. Diego had gone back to the gym in order to start cleaning up early so he would get back to the apartment at a somewhat reasonable time so it was only Ben, Klaus, and Vanya. Klaus was sitting on the couch with Vanya's head in his lap asleep, this was the most physical contact she'd initiated after the lineup. Ben caught Klaus' eye before sticking his head through the door. He sighed in relief when he saw who was on the other side of the door.

"It's the detective." Klaus nodded, shifting Vanya's head onto a pillow before walking quietly to the door and opening it.

"Hi Klaus," Patch greeted him with a smile. Klaus returned before stepping into the hall.

"Hi, detective. Is everything ok? Diego mess up a crime scene? We didn't know he would do that scouts honor!" He was holding three fingers up at that point.

"You were never a scout." Ben snorted as Patch let out a small laugh before shaking her head.

"No, he hasn't done anything. Though I wanted to talk to the three of you." Klaus' dropped his smile

"Diego's not here, won't be for another couple hours. Vanya's here though!" He gestured to the door wildly while Patch nodded.

"That's fine, I'd rather just talk to two of you instead of none." Klaus placed a finger to his lips before opening the door and ushering Patch inside. Ben walked to an empty chair as Klaus gently shook Vanya's shoulder, waking her up. Ben watched as she jerked awake, eyes bouncing around the room until they settled on Klaus.

"Is everything ok?" She asked, reaching for his hand.

"Yeah Vanya everything's fine," he answered, gripping her hand, "Patch is here, she just wants to talk" Vanya peeked over the back of the couch, seeing the Detective by the door. Klaus shuffled Vanya into a sitting position as Patch walked over to the chair and sat down across the siblings, Ben had moved to the empty next to Vanya, opposite Klaus. There was a moment of silence before Patch began to speak.

"So there's some good news. The man in the lineup? The one you pointed out," The siblings waited with baited breathe, "The other women pointed him out as well, so with those confirmations and the DNA, we have enough to take him to trial. And the evidence from all the cases should be enough to give him maximum sentencing."

"Oh thank god," Vanya muttered, Klaus wrapped a tentative arm around her. Ben let out a sigh of relief at the news, wishing for the ability to hug his sister. This wasn't the only news the detective had for them.

"But, there's some bad news," The Hargreeves snapped theirs at back towards her, "Peter Michelson? The other man who was there, we don't have enough for an indictment. He didn't leave any DNA and we can't find anything to tie him to the case." The air seemed to have been sucked out of the room.

"I-I-I thought he... You, you had him in custody!" Vanya had started shaking.

"Yes we did," Patch sighed, "The day after, we had asked around the orchestra and everyone had pointed us in his direction. And when he didn't show up for rehearsal that was enough for us to go search for him at his house. Michelson was there when we showed up and we took him in. He didn't give us a straight answer about where he was that night, and he layered up after about five minutes." Ben watched as Vanya shrunk into Klaus' side.

"But, what if Vanya said she saw him? That would put him there wouldn't it?" Klaus questioned, Patch sighed again.

"It would, but without physical evidence." She shook her head, "It wouldn't hold up in court. We're still looking but at this point..." She trailed off.

"You don't think you'll find anything?" Asked Vanya. Patch shook her head again. "Is there anything else?" 

"Jerome Anders, the man from the lineup, his trial is scheduled for 10 AM this Saturday. And, we may need you to give a statement to the jury." Vanya turned away from Patch, hiding her face in Klaus' shoulder, breathing heavily. Klaus wrapped his other arm around her, making eye contact with Ben before looking back at Patch.

"So, what you're saying is," He started, "That Vanya would have to be in the same room as that bastard?" There was an angry glint in his eyes.

"Not in the same room, she would only have to give her statement to the judge and jury, she may not even have to go at all." Klaus rested his cheek on top of Vanya's head and nodded at Patch. She gave him a tight smile before showing herself out. The door closed with a soft click and the siblings were left in silence. Ben had begun to pace and Klaus was staring straight ahead while absentmindedly rubbing Vanya's back. They were like that for about ten minutes. Klaus pulled away slightly to look down at their sister and immediately noticed the familiar far-off glazed look in her eyes.

"Shit," He muttered quietly. Ben looked over questioningly but quickly noticed their sister's current state. He watched as Klaus pulled fully away from Vanya and rushed back to her room, walking back out a minute later with her quilt piled in his arms. Klaus slowed his approach and carefully wrapped their sister in it. When Vanya was completely wrapped up to her chin, Klaus returned to his earlier position and moved Vanya's head back into his lap. Ben planted himself on the coffee table while Klaus tentatively ran his fingers through their sister's hair. They sat in silence before Ben noticed the way his brother's hands were shaking.

"Klaus-" He was cut off.

"She shouldn't have to go near that fucking bastard!" Klaus growled out, he looked mad. No. Pissed, angry. It was as if hell had been trapped inside his eyes. "After what that asshole did he shouldn't even be allowed in the same damn building!" Ben nodded in agreement, still focusing on his sister. Maybe if he had been paying more attention to Klaus, he would've noticed the faint blue shimmering around his brother's fingers.

They sat like that for about 5 hours, Klaus didn't have the heart to move Vanya. Ben just focused on his sister and the occasional tingling sensation that went through him every few minutes. It wasn't until Diego had walked through the door that they realized how long they were sitting there. Diego took one look at the siblings on the couch, then did a double-take. If Ben didn't know any better, he would say Diego was looking right at him. Then, he let out a broken whisper,

"Ben..." 

What the fuck?

* * *

To say Klaus was surprised, would be an understatement. He was also confused. He hadn't heard Diego open the door, so he didn't know his brother was there. But he said, Ben. That's not possible. Diego hardly ever talks about Ben, especially not to Klaus.

"What the hell?" Diego whispered, "How the hell?" 

"Diego, you ok? You look like you're about to have a stroke." Klaus was looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Klaus, I think he can see me." That got his attention, Klaus snapped his head towards Ben.

"That's not-" "I saw him, Klaus." He snapped his head back to Diego. His brother was standing next to the couch, staring at the spot Ben was sitting.

"He was right there." He pointed at the table, "Klaus, was... Was that Ben?" The atmosphere in the room was tense, Ben was switching his eyes between both his brothers. Klaus could feel Diego's eyes burning holes into his skull. He looked at Ben, who gave him a small nod and smile. With that small encouragement, Klaus turned to Diego and nodded. Diego sucked in a breath before sitting in the chair across from the couch while running his hands down his face. 

"An-and how lo-long have you been able to summon him? When did you summon him?" Klaus let out a sigh,

"I summoned him after the funeral." Diego let out a sharp breath,

"And, you didn't say anything?" Klaus could tell he was angry.

"Would you have believed me?"

"After the funeral, I would've!" Diego snapped, "You were barely taking any drugs, the strongest thing you had on a daily basis was weed and whiskey! I know Ben had been trying to get you sober and that was the closest anyone of us had ever gotten!" Klaus was shocked, he looked at Diego before looking down at Vanya. She was still awake, but not responding to anything that was said.

"He had a plan you know," Klaus whispered, "He helped Vanya pick which college she would go to, helped her enroll and get a scholarship. She helped him find an apartment close by the school where we could live and she could visit." He looked back at Diego, "It was one of the only things that kept me from drowning in pills most days. They both helped, in their own way. I tried telling her Ben was thereafter the funeral but..." Klaus' gaze was glued to Vanya, his eyes watering.

"Klaus," He looked at Diego, "What happened?" Klaus took a shuttering breath,

"I had waited too long. It was about an hour after that I went to tell her." He paused, running his fingers back through Vanya's hair, "She had taken about a hand full of her pills. I don't know how many, only that it was more than what she normally took. Brought her to Mom immediately, she told me Vanya wasn't in any danger but would keep her in observation just to be safe. Mom told me to get some sleep and I did. Kept the covers over my head because I was afraid there would be another ghost in my room if I looked." He let out a strained, watery laugh.

"I remember those days after the funeral," Diego whispered, "She was practically glued to Mom's side. Did you ever get the chance to..." Klaus shook his head.

"Dad had started back on private training, everything got loud again and there was a bag of oxy calling my name." He laughed again, "Vanya was the one who found me, didn't think she would believe me after that." Diego didn't say anything, just watched his brother run his fingers through Vanya's hair and occasionally glance at the spot he had seen Ben. 

"What do you mean 'it got loud'?" Diego asked, Klaus looked at him with his brow furrowed, "You said it got loud again, what does that mean?"

"Ghosts are loud. And once they realize I can see them, they don't leave me alone." Klaus sighed,

"But, you can't summon them when you're high."

"You think I summon them?" He scoffed, "They're everywhere Diego. In the street, in graveyards at the gas station around the corner. Everywhere Diego. The room I was staying in at the rehab place? There was a guy screaming and banging his head against the wall at all hours, I'd get about an hour's worth of sleep if I was lucky. Ben managed to get him out of the room, but it wasn't long before another one took his place." Diego sucked in a breath

"Klaus, I-" "You're detective lady came by today, said they had enough evidence to put one of the bastards away." Klaus still wasn't looking at Diego. "Vanya may have to give a statement at the trial."

"That's good, right? They get put away." That got Klaus' attention,

"Only one of them. There's not enough evidence for that Michelson bastard to even go to trial." He hissed out. "It's why Vanya is currently unresponsive." It seemed Diego hadn't noticed Vanya wasn't asleep but had retreated far into her head.

"Shit," He muttered, "How long?"

"A few hours, give or take," Diego swore again.

"Should probably move her to the bed, it'd be better for her arm and leg." Diego said standing up, "You're also bony as shit so she's probably really uncomfortable at the moment." Klaus gave a squawk of indignation as Diego gently picked their sister up.

Once he had settled her on the bed Klaus crawled in on the other side, making sure to give her space. Diego perched at the foot of the bed, looking down.

"Klaus," he hummed in response, "Is, Ben still here?"

"Oh he's always here, the bastard won't leave me alone." Snickered Klaus,

"Feel kinda bad for him," Diego glanced at Klaus, "He's seen all the weird shit you get up to, probably scarred him." Klaus scoffed,

"Scarred him? Please. I only annoy him at this point. Mildly inconvenience him if you will." Ben glared from his spot by the door,

"Really?" He asked, Diego laughed,

"He's immune to all your shit now, isn't he?" Klaus nodded, before snuggling next to Vanya. No one spoke. Vanya was still. Klaus kept his eyes glued to her, afraid if he looked away something would happen. He was so focused on Vanya, he barely noticed his eyes begin to droop.

.

.

.

And shot them right back open as Vanya began to thrash. She was tangled in the quilt, unable to get out. Diego stood over her, trying to get her awake while attempting to unwrap the blanket. Klaus reached out and began to help release their sister from her confines. Between the two of them, they managed to unravel Vanya from the quilt. She was still thrashing and had managed to smack Klaus in the face causing him to let out a small 'ow'.

"Vanya! Vanya! Listen to me you're ok! I promise you're safe!" She seemed to calm down and become more coherent. Diego kept talking and Klaus tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder and let out a sigh of relief when she didn't flinch away. Vanya was looking around the room before she completely calmed, slumping back against Klaus. He immediately wrapped his arm fully around her and Diego sat on the bed with his hand on her wrist. Vanya had started to quietly cry and shake. 

"Hey, hey Vanya it's ok, you're ok." Soothed Klaus, resting his head on hers.

"I'm sorry, I-I can't, I-" Vanya sobbed into his shoulder.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for." Diego said. When Vanya had stopped shaking and had hidden her face in Klaus' shoulder. 

"Nightmare?" Klaus asked, Vanya nodded. "Were you, were you back there?" She let out a choked sob and nodded.

"You wanna talk about it?" She didn't respond to Diego. After a few seconds, Diego walked out of the room and came back with a glass of water. The brothers watched as she took a few shaky sips before handing it back to Diego. The silence was thick and was only broken when Vanya started to talk.

"I'll have to say what happened won't I?" She asked, "At the trial?"

"Most likely, yeah." Vanya looked at Klaus, then at Diego before looking straight ahead (unknowingly at Ben). Klaus thought she had zoned out again but was surprised when she started to talk and was even more surprised that she was telling them about that night...

' _Vanya was almost to the exit but stopped in her tracks. Peter was standing by the door, looking around. He caught sight of Vanya and began walking towards her. She started walking towards the bathroom and locked herself into the stall farthest from the door. She didn't hear anyone come in but still waited. Vanya didn't know how long she hid. But when she walked out, there wasn't anyone in the hall. She let out a sigh of relief and walked out the door. After looking around the empty street, she began to wonder if she should call a cab but shook her head. It was a Friday night, no one would get here at a good time, she would most likely stay at the theater longer than she wanted. So with that in mind, Vanya set off towards her apartment. As she walked, Vanya looked constantly over her shoulder, the feeling of someone's eyes boring into her. Vanya shook her head, she was probably overreacting. It wasn't until she was at a crosswalk that she heard fast approaching footsteps, and before she could react, there was a hand in her mouth while another wrapped itself around her throat. Her feet weren't touching the ground and she couldn't breathe. Vanya grabbed the arm around her throat, trying to loosen it so she could breathe. It was then someone grabbed her hand and she felt her fingers snap and pain raced up her arm. She screamed. but could barely get a sound out. Someone grabbed her legs, the man was tall and had pale eyes. She kicked and thrashed, but managed to get one leg free and rammed the heel of her foot repeatedly._

_"Stop squirming!" There was a hot flaming fire that raced down and across her leg, she felt something warm drip drown._

_"The hell are you doing? That wasn't part of the plan!"_

_"You want to fuck her, don't you? And we can't do that if she's squirming, can't we? Now, let's see what we're working with." She saw hands reaching for her shirt and ripping it open. The cold air hit her and she started shaking from the cold as well as fear. The hands moved down to her jeans, yanking them down to her knees. Vanya was full-on sobbing now, her hand hurt, and her leg was on fire. She was dropped onto the ground and tried crawling away, but there was a swift kick to her side, then another, and another. She kept trying to get away, she had to get away. Someone grabbed her hurting leg and the pain was so great that she blacked out._

_When she came too, there was a weight shifting above her. It wasn't until that it moved off her that she realized the pain between her legs and something warm dripping from- Oh fuck. Vanya let out a sob and tried to crawl again, but a heavy boot stomped on her arm, so hard that something shifted and snapped._

_"Well, it's your turn now." Silence, "Don't tell me you're pussying out know are you? This whole thing was for you."_

_"No, I'm going to do it." There was a crinkling noise and a snort,_

_"You came prepared."_

_Vanya's vision blurred as the other person settled above her. She squeezed her eyes shut, crying. It wasn't until Vanya realized she was alone that she began to wonder if she imagined it all._

_Her mind was fuzzy, everything hurt, Vanya didn't know how long she laid there. One moment, someone walked towards her, then there were flashing lights and multiple people around her. Vanya couldn't clearly remember who was saying what, but all she knows was that something bad happened, and she didn't want to remember.'_

"I don't remember arriving at the hospital. It was just... I don't know." Klaus, Diego, and Ben were silent. They now knew what happened to their little sister. Klaus was full-on crying while Diego was trying to hold back his tears. Klaus wrapped his arms around her, he hated his sister had to go through this horrific event, he hated how useless he felt. Was this how Ben felt when he watched Klaus take drug after drug? Fuck he needed to take Benarino to the movies. 

"Vanya," Diego began, "Shit." Ok, Klaus shouldn't have expected much from his extremely emotionally stunted brother. He wished he knew what to say, but he didn't. Klaus was horrified, disgusted, and pissed. These fucking bastards hurt Vanya, and one of them was going to walk free. Klaus was stewing in his anger, and he felt a small tug in his gut. When Klaus looked down, he noticed his hands outlined in blue and heard Vanya let out a gasp.

"Ben?" Diego let out a choked breath, letting Klaus know he could see him too. Ben, outlined in an ethereal blue, walked forward.

"Hi Vanya," He said softly.

"You're here?" Ben nodded,

"Someone's gotta keep this moron in line." He said pointing at Klaus. He was almost offended, except Ben managed to get Vanya to laugh. Ben moved towards Vanya and Diego scooted backward in order to give him some room next to their sister. Ben had barely opened his arms when Vanya had launched herself at him, sobbing into his chest. 

If someone had told Klaus last year that he would be sitting with Diego and watching Vanya hug Ben, he'd have asked you what you were on and could he have some. The sight had Klaus thinking that the past month had been nothing but a pill-induced dream. Even if it was, he had already committed the sight of Vanya hugging Ben and Diego smiling softly to memory. This was a moment that most definitely went in the happy memory file. Klaus then noticed a soft breeze was filling the room and noticed one of the windows was completely shattered.

"Um, guys? Hate to interrupt but," His siblings looked at him, "The window is kinda, broken." The other three looked over and saw it.

"What the hell?" Diego whispered.

What the hell indeed. 


	16. Powers, Pills, Phone Calls and Murder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben points out how everything seems to break when Vanya is scared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention of sexual assault, injuries, death and drug use.

The phone was ringing, only a small desk light was on. 

Files were strewn about, blood pooled and dripped onto the floor from the figure sitting at the desk.

Her head had been bashed in, matting her hair with blood.

Two figures were rummaging through the house, throwing things around and taking any valuables they could find.

"This seems like a lot of work." One muttered, his partner paused, glancing at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked,

"Well, normally they just have us get in, kill the target, get out. Not any of this 'Stage a robbery' crap. We're not getting any bonuses from doing this extra shit." He explained,

"For once I agree with you." He stopped, looking at his partner in disbelief, "Not, not about the bonuses, about how this is extra work. That they normally don't give us this extra stuff to do. I mean, grab anything important? That would be worth money? You know I normally don't question our instructions, but..."

"What the hell?"

"What the hell! What the hell are we supposed to do with all the extra crap? Take it with us?" She shook her head before pausing in front of the oven. Her partner walked towards her, questioning what she was doing.

"This is an old stove." She pointed out.

"Yep, it's one of those shitty gas stoves. The high cost of accidentally blowing your own house up for a good dinner." They both looked at each other, emptied their pockets of whatever they had grabbed, and got to work. The woman was turning on the stove to the highest setting as her partner grabbed the corpse and placed it in the kitchen. She placed a lit candle on the table and motioned towards the door. They both started to exit the house, ready to get their next assignment.

The man paid no attention to the pair of blue-rimmed glasses he'd stepped on in his exit.

* * *

Back in the apartment, Vanya and Klaus were sitting in the living room while Diego was taping old towels to the window in order to block the chilling breeze from outside. Vanya was once again wrapped in her quilt, nestled into her brother's side. She couldn't see Ben anymore. The fact that she had even been able to see him had her reeling. The fact she had HUGGED her dead brother was enough to send her in shock. Vanya didn't know what to think, Ben had been in her apartment. How long had he'd been there? How much had he seen? How much had he heard? Was he still here?

"He's still here," Klaus whispered, "Sitting like a creep on your coffee table." She turned her head but saw nothing. Vanya wanted to ask when Klaus summoned him, but at the same time, didn't know if she would like the answer. She'd remembered the week after Ben's funeral, finding Klaus in the bathroom with his pupils blown wide. He'd been talking to the empty corner, or so she thought. Vanya had heard him mention Ben in his drugged-out state but dismissed the idea of Klaus actually talking to the ghost of their dead brother. Klaus had been high, his powers didn't work when he was high. 

"Was, was he there? At the funeral?" She quietly asked.

"No, I had summoned him after." He was silent as if waiting for her to say something, but she didn't, "I'd planned on telling you, but I waited too long. Wanted to make him laugh, cause you know, he was dearly departed. Also seemed a bit confused when I pulled him forward." Klaus glanced down at her, but she was still looking over at the coffee table. They sat in silence, the only sound being the ripping of tape from the other room. Diego walked into the room after a few minutes, a roll of duct tape in his hand. Where the hell had that come from? She didn't own any.

"Well, it's official," Diego said, shoving the tape into his bag, "You have the worst apartment in history." He sat in the chair across from the couch with a sigh.

"It's the first time something like this has happened. Also, do you just, carry duct tape with you?" Vanya asked.

"What?"

"You just, have duct tape in your bag?" He looked at her incredulously,

"Is this seriously what you're worried about right now?" Vanya shrugged,

"She has a point." Klaus said, "Why do you have that? Think you'll need to kidnap someone? Or is it some weird kinky thing? Stick to handcuffs Diego, duct tape is a pain to get off." 

"And you know this how?" Asked Vanya.

"Nope, Klaus do not answer that. Let's just focus on Vanya's shitty apartment." 

"But Diego-" "No" The brothers had a stare-off.

"Ok, look. It's an old building Diego. Stuff like this happens." 

"All at once?" Scoffed Diego while she shrugged.

"Ok, I admit it's a little weird. But what else would it be? You or Klaus developed a new power? Ben's somehow been able to break things?" Diego sat in thought, while Klaus looked where Ben was supposed to be sitting

"Ben, says it's a possibility." Vanya glanced up at him,

"That he's been breaking things?" She asked and Klaus shook his head. 

"No, about the power thing."

"Power thing? That either you or I somehow developed a new one?" Questioned Diego while Klaus again shook his head.

"He thinks, he thinks Vanya is the one with the power." 

Silence.

"What?" Asked both Vanya and Diego.

"Yeah uh, hold on." They watched as he closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Nothing happened. Klaus cracked an eye open then slumped in defeat. 

"Ok so, he says that anytime something breaks is when Vanya is... surprised?" Diego cocked an eyebrow.

"Suprised?" Klaus flapped a hand at him.

"When she's woken up from a nightmare, or something like that." They sat there mulling over what Klaus/Ben was saying. 

"But, I don't have any powers. There's no way that I... There's no way." Vanya said while shaking her head.

"No, in a way it makes sense," They looked at Diego, "Your first night back, the glasses and light bulbs broke after you had a nightmare."

"And the kitchen lights shattered when I dropped a stack of books trying to wake up Diego!" Added Klaus, Vanya was shaking her head.

"What about when Allison called? And the lamps shattered? Nothing scared me then." Diego looked thoughtful while Klaus was staring at the coffee table.

"Ben says, it might've been shock then." They looked at him puzzled, "Well, Allison just told us that she'd rumored Claire and I know Ben and I were shocked and you probably were as well. So one thing led to another and" He mimed something blowing up while making an explosion noise with his mouth. Vanya just stared at him before continuing.

"Look, even if you guys are right, why now? Why after all these years of dad's testing, does it pop up now?" No one seemed to have an explanation for that question. The siblings were sitting in silence before Diego spoke up.

"Hey, Vanya, who'd dad take you to see about your medication?" She looked at him puzzled. "Do you remember who prescribed it?" 

"I... I've been on it since we were about, 4? So I don't really remember." Klaus sat up straight, looking intensely at Diego.

"Where are you going with this?" He slowly asked as Diego sighed

"I'm just, remember what Dr. Mason said? That the medication was extremely strong and too much of it can mess with your emotions?" They stared at him, "All I'm saying is, is that anytime some shit blows up, you're feeling something. And the pills may have something to do with it." 

"Feeling something?" Asked Klaus incredulously,

"I don't know how else to say it ok?" Diego threw his arms up. "Shit started breaking when you got home, and you've only been taking about one pill a day instead of popping them like candy. It's a possibility that dad made them or had someone else do it to specifically fuck up your emotions." In a way, it made sense, but at the same time...

"Why would he do that? Why would he go through all that trouble just to contain my supposed powers?" Questioned Vanya.

"Who knows! Dad did so much shit that it's impossible to fully understand what his true motives are!" Klaus exclaimed, Diego nodded while Vanya just looked down unable to fully wrap her head around the conversation. 

She could possibly have powers. How should she feel about it? Happy? Angry? Sad? Disappointed? She was mainly confused. Why would dad do this? He was constantly exploiting her sibling's powers, so why wouldn't he have done the same to her? It doesn't make sense, especially not from Reginald Hargreeves. Vanya sat listening to her brothers throwing ideas back in forth, and the phone started to ring. Their eyes snapped to it. it rang twice more before Diego moved to answer it.

"Hello?" Klaus and Vanya watched in silence, "Hey Eudora what's going?... What? When?... No all of us are here... Not till next week... Do you need us to come in? Ok, keep me updated?" He hung up and turned to his siblings,

"Dr. Mason's dead." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be longer


	17. Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanya gives her statement in court.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention sexual assault and injuries

Ben stood in Vanya's kitchen, watching the sun slowly peek over the buildings. Diego was sleeping on the couch while Klaus and Vanya were both in the bedroom, these past few days had been rough. Klaus had almost relapsed, sneaking out early in the morning after the phone call about Dr. Mason, but came back about an hour. He quietly explained to his siblings why he ran. Diego and Vanya sat listening to him, absorbing what was said. 

Klaus explained that when a ghost appears, they appear how they died. If someone died in their sleep, they look normal. If they were stabbed, you could see the wounds and blood from the fatal blows. He told them that he didn't want to wake up one night and see the burnt husk of what once was Dr. Mason, even if that possibility was slim, Klaus was still afraid. Ben stood behind Klaus, nervous. Hoping that their siblings wouldn't judge him too harshly for his almost relapse, but would also find some way to keep him from going out again. This led to the three living siblings squashed and curled together on Vanya's bed. Klaus' head was pressed against Vanya's collarbone, his hand gripped tightly in hers. Diego was on Klaus' other side with his back against the headboard so he could keep an eye on both his siblings and the door. That was how they could be found for the next few days. Diego would sit with his siblings, making sure they were asleep before quietly moving into the living room and taking up residence on the couch with a knife in hand. But if he so much as heard a small noise from the bedroom, he would be back in his original position against the headboard watching over Klaus and Vanya. 

Tonight though, Diego was stretched across the couch asleep. Ben wasn't even shocked that he was the first of them to nod off, he had been running himself ragged looking after Vanya, making sure Klaus stayed sober and doing his job at the gym. When they noticed he was out, Klaus and Vanya had quietly shuffled into the bedroom to sleep while Ben stayed in the kitchen. It was about an hour after the sun had risen that Diego started to stir. Ben watched as he walked into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets until he found the coffee. Diego started the pot and pulled out three mugs, these were some of the only ones left that hadn't been broken by Vanya. Klaus stumbled into the room the moment the coffee was done and planted himself on the counter, grip tightening onto the mug Diego had given him.

"Sleep ok?" Klaus answered with a shrug, "Did it get loud?" Oh, bless him, Diego was trying.

"No. One of the good things's about Vanya's apartment is that not a lot of people have died here." Diego nodded at the answer.

"Vanya awake?" Ben asked

"Ssshee's still sleeping." Klaus tiredly slurred out as Diego glanced at him.

"You talking to Ben?" He asked,

"Yeah, he's by the fridge." Diego turned towards Ben and offered a small smile. The brothers were quiet again before Klaus asked,

"What time is it?" 

"Little after 7:15" Answered Diego, "Should we wake up Vanya?"

"No" Klaus shook his head, "Giver her a few more minutes, today's gonna be a real shit show. Let her have a few more moments of blissful sleep. God knows she'll need it." It was October 13th, the day of Jerome Anders' trial. Two days ago, Patch had confirmed that all of the victims were being required to give statements in court by the scumbag's lawyer. Ben sighed, as he watched his brothers.

"It start's at 10, Eudora said we should be there about 15 minutes early. We'll wake her up in about 10 minutes."

"Bit too late for that." The brother's gaze snapped to their sister, leaning heavily on the wall in order to keep weight off her leg. 

"You're not supposed to be walking by yourself, Vanya!" Diego sighed. He moved forward to help her as Klaus hopped off the counter and pulled out a chair so she could sit.

"Sorry, I knew Klaus was up but I didn't know if you were. I didn't want to wake you up if you were still asleep." Shrugged Vanya as she accepted the coffee that Klaus slid towards her.

"I was the first one up, so you worried for nothing."

"Sorry for trying to be considerate." Diego and Vanya smirked at each other as Klaus re-positioned himself on the counter and Ben hopped up next to him. They sat in silence, sipping their coffee.

"You ready for today?" Asked Diego,

"Not one bit." Vanya sighed, "The only good thing is that I won't have to be in the same room as him."

"Yeah, and you'll never have to see that asshole again." Klaus said, earning a ghostly jab from Ben and a side-eye from Diego as he was getting Vanya's medication. 

They had a very long discussion on the pills. Vanya said she would still take one a day, and after the trial was over they would talk more about her powers. Ben could tell Vanya was still wary about the idea she had powers, mainly the fact it was dad who had been shutting them down for about 2 decades instead of using them like he used everyone else. To say the least, Ben was more confused about dad's reasoning. It was obvious that he knew about them, the pills were enough proof of that, but why would he do that? The only way they would get answers would be if they asked dad himself, or if Diego broke into dad's office and somehow found notes on Vanya, or if dad died and they asked Pogo. The latter seemed to not be in the cards for a few more years, asking dad about his motives was just a bad idea and Vanya made it clear she didn't want any of them to get in trouble with because they broke into his office, so all the options were out.

"I think if I don't see either of them I'll be ok. Maybe." Vanya was looking into her coffee as if it held all the answers to the universe. (Which Ben knew was 42.) Klaus hopped off the counter walked over to Vanya, wrapped his arms around her, and rested his head on top of hers.

"One of the douchebags isn't supposed to be there, but I'll gladly kick their asses if they so much as look at you." Diego huffed, spinning a small knife between his fingers. Klaus nodded and Vanya squeezed one of his hands.

"I just want this to be over." She whispered. Diego leaned forward,

"The worst will be over today, just a few more hours and you shouldn't have to think of either of them ever again." 

"Or see them again," Added Klaus. Vanya gave each of her brothers a tight smile.

Ben observed his siblings for the next hour, watching them get ready. At 9:15, he was in the backseat of Diego's car next to Klaus sitting behind Vanya. It was silent, the radio was off and even Klaus was silent. The Hargreeves arrived at the courthouse after 9:40, meeting with Patch, Beaman, and the three other women inside. At 10 the detectives entered so the trial could begin. At 10:31 the first witness was called. At 10:49 the second went in. 11:07 was when the third entered. Finally, at 11:23, Vanya was called in.

* * *

Klaus was sitting in one of the chairs in the hall a little ways down from the courtroom, Vanya had gone in about 10 minutes ago. She had asked them to wait outside. Diego was pacing while Ben was standing right outside the door, respecting their sister's wish of them staying out of the room. To say they were worried was an understatement. About 2 minutes after Vanya entered the room, the glass on the door started to shake and cracks started to appear. Before the brothers could decide if they should go in to see if Vanya was ok, it stopped as soon as it started. Klaus' leg was bouncing up and down and his fingers twitched, itching for a drag of nicotine. But the courthouse (and his siblings) didn't allow smoking inside, even though he had a squished box in his pocket, Klaus didn't want to move until he saw Vanya and confirmed she was ok.

Diego was sadly not helping his nerves. The constant back and forth pacing was giving him a headache and making him slightly dizzy.

"Can you sit down, please? Your brood pacing is giving me a headache." Diego ignored him and kept pacing. Klaus blew a raspberry at his brother before looking away. Something at the end of the hall caught his eye. There was some guy standing at the end of the hall. He didn't seem too threatening, but the fact he kept looking down the hall every few seconds made him seem like a creep.

"Hey Diego, creepy guy at 9 o'clock." Diego was still pacing but seemed to have heard him.

"He doin' anything?"

"Just staring." His brother gave a grunt in response and they descended into an uneasy silence. Klaus glanced over and saw Ben still waiting by the door, unmoving. 

Klaus closed his eyes with a sigh, maybe he could convince Diego to take them to Griddy's when it was over. The siblings were now on a first-name basis with Agnes, the waitress, who proclaimed they were some of her favorite customers. Agnes was a kind cheery soul and Vanya would most likely need some cheering up once this whole ordeal was over. Before Klaus could voice his idea to Diego, the door opened and Vanya was wheeled out.

Klaus knew something was wrong. She was shaking, her left hand was gripping the arm of the chair so hard her knuckles were white, her eyes were squeezed shut and downcast. He stood up as Vanya was brought closer and Ben walked unseen behind her. Klaus crouched down so he would be eye level with her.

"Hey, Vanya." She didn't respond. Klaus glanced at Diego and Ben, hoping they would know what to do. The courtroom doors opened again as both Patch and Beaman walked out. Diego shared one more look with Klaus before moving to talk with them.

"Vanya?" Klaus tried again, this time receiving a shuddering breath from his sister. "What happened?"

"He was there." Klaus felt his heart drop and blood freeze.

"What?" Vanya finally looked up.

"His lawyer insisted he be there, quoted the 6th amendment. The right to face your accused. Said he had a right to be there." Klaus gripped her hand and saw the doors open again. This time a tall man with greasy hair and wearing an ill-fitting suit was escorted out by security, followed by a short, sweaty balding man with a slim briefcase. If Klaus had money, he would bet that the tall one was the fucking douche who hurt his sister and the sweaty one was the asshole lawyer. He was about ready to launch himself at the smug bastard, but a loud shout from Patch distracted him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He turned and saw her striding quickly towards the creepy guy from earlier. "You're not supposed to be here!"

"There are no charges against me. No restraining order, so I can be here if I want."

"You still don't have a reason to be here." Patch had planted herself in front of the siblings, blocking the man's view of Vanya.

"I do I need to talk with her."

"No, you don't." 

"Yes, I do! I didn't hurt her!" He kept trying to sidestep Patch and Klaus got a look at his hooked nose and beady little eyes. Vanya clenched her hand around Klaus'. He turned his attention back to her, putting a hand behind her head and allowing her to hide her face in his shoulder. Ben was glaring daggers at the man and Klaus could've sworn he saw his jacket start to move as if the tentacles were trying to get free. Beaman came forward, standing next to Klaus while Diego stood behind Vanya with a hand on her shoulder.

"Vanya! You need to tell them I didn't hurt you!" That set Diego off. He took quick threatening strides towards the man, gripping the collar of his shirt, and started to shake him.

"You son of a bitch! You have no right to talk to her! Not after what you did!" It took both Beaman and Patch to pull him off, then it was only Klaus and Ben in the way of the creep. Klaus stood up, his hands on Vanya's shoulders blocking her from view. He maintained eye contact with the man and felt Vanya clutch at his coat, her face pressed into his side. The man took a step forward, saying quietly,

"I just want to talk to her." He looked at Klaus as if expecting him to move out of the way, but Klaus just tightened his grip on his sister. He was about five inches from Klaus when Beaman shoved his way between the two. 

"Michelson, we may not have been able to press charges for this case, but we're getting very close for harassment," Beaman stated.

"I- I'm not harassing her!" Sputtered Michelson

"You're bothering someone in public. Who for the record, placed you at a crime scene and clearly does not want to talk with you." The detective stated, holding up a hand to stop him from speaking, "That is harassment. So I suggest you walk away before you leave with us, in handcuffs." He huffed but seemed to not like handcuffs since he turned on his heel, not before shooting a glare at Vanya.

Patch seemed to have gotten Diego to calm down since the two approached them. Diego resumed his position behind Vanya and Klaus crouched to her height again, putting her head back on his shoulder. He could feel damp marks on his shirt from where Vanya had been crying and began to wish the detectives hadn't stopped his brother from beating the fucking hell out of the douche bag. Klaus shared a look with his brothers when he felt Vanya take a choked breath.

"Can we leave?" She asked quietly.

"Hey, detectives?" They both turned towards Klaus, "Is there anything else Vanya needs to do? Or..." Patch shook her head.

"No, you guys get her home." The brothers nodded, Klaus squeezing Vanya in a hug before standing up as Diego took up his position behind them. Ben was looking on with a sorrowful gaze. As they started to leave, Patch called out,

"Diego" He looked back, "Don't do anything stupid." His only response was a clenched jaw and tight nod.

They made it back to the apartment without issue but in tense silence. No one knew what to say. Once inside, Vanya was curled up on her bed. She had asked to be left alone, but they could hear quiet and choked sobs coming from her room. Diego was clenching his fists as he paced the kitchen, Ben sat on the couch next to Klaus who had his head in his hands. He felt a familiar itch running under his skin, and it was for something stronger than nicotine.

This day was turning into a complete shit show and it was barely past fucking noon. 


	18. Fuck it Lets Cuddle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PLATONIC SIBLING CUDDLES

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be angst and fluff.

"He just showed up?" Allison asked incredulously, "Is Vanya ok?" Diego glanced down the hall from where he was standing on the phone. Vanya's back was to him, still curled up on the bed. 

"No, she's been lying in bed for the past few hours. Klaus and I tried getting her to eat something but..." He trailed off with a sigh.

"Shit. And Klaus he's still clean?" 

"Yeah."

"And, and Ben?" A look at his brother showed him Klaus playing patty-cake, seemingly by himself and shaking his head.

"Still here." The three of them had decided to tell Alison about Ben, but to hold off on Vanya's powers. Vanya had said telling her about Ben would probably be more believable instead of their ordinary sister supposedly having powers. The brothers had protested, saying if Allison would believe them about Ben, she would believe them about her powers. Vanya gave but asked they wait until they know more about what she can do before saying anything. 

"What about you?" Diego paused,

"What about me?" He asked,

"Are you doing ok?" 

"I'm fine."

"Diego," She started, "You're working, keeping Klaus clean and taking care of Vanya. You're the only one who can drive so that means you're also taking them to appointments and stuff. Klaus and Vanya aren't the only ones I'm worried about." Her tone was soft, and worry was plainly laced in her voice.

"As I said, I'm fine." He heard Allison let out a sigh.

"Look, my next appointment isn't for another two weeks, maybe I could-" "No, Allison." "They're my family too Diego! You are not the only one who's worried!"

"That's not what I-" He cut off, taking a deep breath before continuing. "We've all had this discussion Allison: you have Claire to think about. It's not just us. As much as we want to see you, we understand why you can't fly out now." She was silent. "If anything happens, you know I'll call, right?"

"Yeah. But you know the next time anything happens I'm booking a flight over to be there." He let out a sigh, Diego had almost forgotten how stubborn she could be. 

They talked for a while more before hanging up. Diego looked over and saw that Klaus had flopped backward onto the floor, an arm covering his eyes. Diego walked over, nudging Klaus with his toe. Klaus' only response was a grunt and half-hearted slap to Diego's leg. He let out a sigh before crouching next to his brother.

"You good?" No response. Diego ran a hand down his face, the bags under his eyes felt like miniature weights on his face. He wanted to sleep, take a few minutes, but he was taking care of his siblings. They needed him. He must have been crouched there awhile because Klaus was tapping on his leg looking worried. 

"Yeah? Everything ok?"

"Feel like I should ask you that." Murmured Klaus.

"I'm not the one laying on the floor." 

"I'm not the one who looks like they’re about to collapse from exhaustion." He looked down at Klaus, about ready to object before Klaus cut him off, "I know you haven't been sleeping, Ben says you keep checking the windows and door when Vanya and I are asleep. He says you get about an hour or two at most." 

"Snitch," Diego huffed towards where he assumed Ben was sitting.

"C'mon Diego, you need sleep." Klaus was hitting his leg with each word, "You know it's bad if I'm the one telling you that." He was standing at that point, holding out his hand for Diego to take. Diego took it and allowed Klaus to drag him to the other room. 

Vanya still had her back to the hallway and didn't acknowledge her brothers. Klaus approached her slowly, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, gave Klaus' hand a squeeze before looking over at Diego then back at Klaus. He seemed to ask her a silent question which she responded with a nod before turning back to the wall. Klaus grabbed Diego's hand again and pulled him onto the bed. He yanked Diego's boots off his feet before taking off his own shoes. Diego tried scooting over to give Vanya more room but stopped when Klaus flopped on top of him, shoving himself into the small space between his siblings, sighing as he nestled into Vanya's side. She didn't seem to mind and wrapped an arm around Klaus. Vanya looked over their brother's curls at Diego and gripped his hand. He gently squeezed back and watched as she closed her eyes, pressing her face into Klaus' hair. Diego took in the sight of his siblings tightly curled together before pressing closer into Klaus' back, he could feel how bony his brother was. Side effect of drugs? Is he ok? He needed sleep. He had Vanya's hand in his and he could feel every breath Klaus took. These were reminders they were both there, they were safe. He would know if something happened. With that in mind, Diego closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He could spare a few moments for sleep.

Ben watched his siblings sleep with a smile on his face and an ache in his chest. He wished he could join them, but it would probably drain Klaus. They hadn't made much headway with making him corporeal and Klaus had admitted he didn't have a clue how he did it before. Both Vanya and Diego had been very supportive about him practicing and didn't push him. Ben felt they were more worried about relapse than anything else. If Klaus' hands began to shake, he chewed his nails excessively, pulled his hair, or paced while murmuring to himself, one or both of his siblings would grab his hand, holding tight. Klaus would respond by gripping the hand back and curling into whoever was next to him. Ben let out a sigh, withdrawals were over, and the nightmares were less, relapse was still a big worry.

There had been a night when Diego came back and found Klaus sitting in the bathroom, Vanya's medication in his hand. Ben had held his breath and watched Diego approach him. Ben let out a sigh of relief when Diego just held out his hand and Klaus handed the bottle to him. No yelling, no shouting, no scolding. Just a quiet 'Did you take any' from their brother. Klaus had shaken his head. Diego pulled him up and placed him next to Vanya and watched over the two while they slept. They had talked about the incident the next morning, Klaus asking if the pills would work for him and his siblings to explain why it most likely wouldn't. The pills shut down Vanya's emotions which is what her powers are attached to, while they weren't sure if Klaus' powers could be amplified by his emotions, Vanya had begged him not to take them. She seemed to have gotten through to him since he hadn't tried to take any again.

Ben approached the bed, watching over his siblings when something caught his eye. There was something under the bed, sticking out a small bit. He crouched down, upon closer inspection, Ben noticed it was a red typewriter. Oh, this must have been what she wrote the book on. He grimaced, no one had brought it up, but Ben felt it should be talked about at some point. Ben looked again and saw there was something else shoved next to it. He wormed his way closer, using the dim light from the bedside lamp to see what it was. It looked like- oh. The title _Extraordinary: My life as Number Seven and_ a picture of his sister met his gaze. Vanya seemed to have taken the phrase 'out of sight, out of mind' to heart. Both objects were covered with a thick layer of dust, showing it had been a long time since Vanya had placed them there. He straightened back up, gazing down at his sister. She seemed to have regretted what she did, her broken contract, and the book under the bed seemed to be a testament to that. At the same time... Ben shook his head, walking out to the couch. It never occurred to him or Klaus to ask why Vanya had written it, only that it hurt like hell. Almost every specific and personal detail was placed into the public eye. Almost everything. She didn't include them helping Klaus, trying their hardest to get him sober that month before his death, or finding an apartment that would have been their safe haven away from the Academy. There was a lot she didn't write about, but what she did write about...

He didn't know how long he'd been sitting on the couch when he heard a rattle. Ben's head snapped towards the door, holding his breath. After a moment, he saw the doorknob shake. Someone was trying to get in! It started to shake violently, and Ben could hear someone swearing. He investigated the hall and saw Peter Michelson. His blood boiled and the horror writhed. This bastard got off with practically a slap on the wrist and was now trying to get in! With a loud swear, Ben bolted back to his siblings.

"Klaus! Klaus! KLAUS!" He snapped up, bashing his head against Vanya's chin causing her to wake up. Diego woke up as well, asking what was wrong.

"Jesus Christ! Ben! What the hell?!?" Klaus' had a hand on his chest, Vanya rubbing her chin and Diego was just looked confused.

"Michelson's outside! Peter Michelson Klaus! He's, he's trying to get in!" Klaus froze for less than a second before jumping off the bed and ran down the hall, ripping the door open.

"What, the absolute FUCK are you doing?!" Ben stood behind Klaus and got a front-row view of Michelson's shocked face. Diego was lurking in the hall, watching. It took the bastard a moment to answer.

"I need to talk with her." Klaus scoffed

"At what," He looked at the clock, "3:30 in the fucking morning? Sorry, Vanya talks to people at normal business hours, but she has no room in her schedule for douche bags." Klaus stood his ground and didn't move when the asshole stepped closer, their noses practically touching.

"Like I said, I need to talk with her! She needs to know I didn't hurt her!"

"Oh, sure you didn't!" Klaus growled out.

"I didn't and she needs to tell the police she got it wrong! She owes me that!" He yelled out,

"And why the hell does she owe you a damn thing?" Michelson jumped when Diego spoke, and his face flashed with uncertainty before his facade of indignant anger slipped back on.

"Vanya Hargreeves destroyed my life when she told the police I hurt her! I lost my job! I was evicted! Most of my family won't talk to me! She needs to tell them she got it wrong! I wasn't the one who hurt her!" 

"You need to-" "No Diego no, he's right." Ben looked at Klaus astounded, "He didn't hurt Vanya."

"Thank you! See! He gets it!"

"He just watched. You watched as Jerome Anders hurt my sister and did nothing. And then you violated her. You fucking raped my sister and I swear to god," It was then Ben felt a slight tingle run down his spine and noticed Klaus' hands were glowing blue.

"What, what are you going to do? You're the junkie brother, aren't you?" Sneered Michelson, which Klaus answered with a laugh and wide manic smile.

"Ex-junkie asshole. And it's not me you should worry about. It's my brother." Klaus made eye contact with Ben, who promptly grabbed Michelson's shoulder, spun him around and punched him right in his face. Ben felt something give and squish under his fist but took no notice of it and just dragged Michelson out of the apartment. He took the douche bag down the hall and threw him down the stairs. He looked up at Ben in terror.

"You stay the hell away!" He felt his stomach shift and saw the Horror creep out from under his jacket. Ben ripped his jacket up and watched as it sprang forward towards the asshole, and only felt disappointed when they just phased through him. Ben watched as the sniveling mess crawled away from the bottom of the stairs and walked back into the apartment.

He found his siblings in Vanya's room. His sister was huddled the corner farthest away from the door with Klaus and Diego sitting next to her, she was shaking, and Ben could hear a faint creaking noise and noticed the entire bedside lamp had shattered. Diego's hand was gripped tightly in hers and Klaus had a hand in her shoulder. He shot a look at Ben who gave him a nod.

"He's gone Vanny. Ben made sure of it. I promise you're safe." She looked up at Klaus who gave her a comforting smile before she let out a loud sob and hid her face in Diego's shoulder. Diego enveloped her in a hug making eye contact with Klaus.

"He's gone?" Klaus nodded. Diego let out a sigh of relief before turning back to Vanya.

"Hey, Vanya? Let’s get you up." Diego picked up Vanya and tried placing her on the bed. Her grip on him only tightened when Diego went to step back, he was about to say something but thought better of it and moved Vanya into the middle of the bed and settling next to her while Klaus crawled in on the other side. She was still crying into Diego's shirt, but not as hard. The brothers sandwiched their sister between them while Ben perched on the bedside table. He watched as Vanya cried herself to sleep. He watched as Klaus drifted off, his arm curling around their sister. He watched as Diego fought sleep for as long as he could before nodding off, a hand on his sister and the other wrapped around a knife. He smirked, old habits die hard it seemed. Diego has been watching over them, but for tonight, Ben would. Diego needed a break and Ben was more than happy to guard his family. 


	19. Setbacks and Arguments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing ever stays good for the Hargreeves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mention child abuse and neglect.

Klaus was worrying his lip between his teeth. Diego was sitting at the table, head in his hands. Ben was pacing the length of the room. Vanya had just hobbled out of the apartment. The four siblings just had an argument that ended with Klaus being sprawled across the floor and Diego hitting the cabinets due to a shock wave of power from Vanya. It wasn't a large one, but it was enough to rattle the windows, break some lights and scare her. After realizing what she had done, Vanya had shrunken in on herself stammering apologies. Diego and Klaus were both shocked and hadn't moved, they didn't even notice Vanya was leaving until the door closed. Even then neither moved for a full minute. When they finally did, Vanya was long gone. 

The argument had started that morning. Klaus had been practicing manifesting Ben and was actually successful. They were able to have a conversation between the four of them, when Ben accidentally let slip about his findings under Vanya's bed. He'd clammed up immediately after realizing what he had said, while Klaus looked at him, Diego looked at Vanya and Vanya looked at the floor. The silence was tense and deafening. Diego asked quietly why the book and typewriter were hidden away, Vanya didn't respond. Klaus' gaze was bouncing between the three of them and Ben's form began to flicker before he faded completely. Diego asked Vanya again, and she quietly replied that she didn't want to talk about it, causing Diego to clench his jaw. Klaus shot Diego a look, hoping he would hold his anger in so they could continue the conversation like normal civilized adults, but of course, they were Hargreeves, nothing could civil. 

"Why not?" Diego forced out, "Shouldn't we talk about it?" Vanya glanced up at him before returning her gaze to the ground.

"I mean, it might be a good idea, get it out of the way?" Questioned Klaus as he looked over at Ben. Ben wasn't looking at him, opting to stare at the wall.

Vanya took a shaky breath before saying, "I put them there around the same time I broke my contract with the publisher. I, I don't really remember why I put them there, just that I couldn't look at them anymore. I guess that was the first place I thought of." She still wasn't looking at them. Diego was staring holes into the side of her head, and Klaus was picking at his nail polish.

"Hey Vanya," Started Klaus, "Why, why did you break your contract?" 

"That's a good question." Diego muttered. The brothers looked at her waiting for an answer, before she responded.

"It was after Diego confronted me outside the theater, I called and broke it the moment I got home."

"That's when you broke it, not why." Vanya shot Diego a look before turning her gaze away. The atmosphere was tense, Vanya was picking at her cast and let out a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, not wanting her powers to act out.

"When I broke it, I had realized..." She trailed off,

"Realized what? That it wasn't just you in that hellhole?" Diego spat out, "That being ignored by him wasn't the worst that could've happen?" Klaus let out a quiet 'oh boy' and stood up, wondering how he could diffuse the situation. "Dad was an asshole, still is. You have any idea how lucky you were to not have his goddamn eyes on you that entire time? You didn't have training! You didn't have to bear the weight of knowing that if you messed up someone could die!"

"I knew the missions were hard Diego! I was there for every brief, every insult he threw! I wanted to step in so many times." Vanya looked at him, "You know, I originally never wanted powers. I wanted the people who I was told were my siblings to give me more than a half glance. I wanted them to acknowledge that there was someone else in the house and I thought that wouldn't happen unless I had something that made me different, like the rest of you." Klaus stared at her, Ben stared at her, Diego stared at her. His mouth opening but she cut him off.

"Now Five, he was my only friend in that house. But there so many times I thought, think, that the only reason he spent so much time with me is because he knew I would listen. Five knew I would've done anything to spend time with any of you, so maybe he took advantage of that, maybe he didn't. I'll never know. But after he left, Luther and Allison had each other, you had Klaus, Ben and Mom. I didn't have anyone."

"No, Vanya you... You had Ben and Diego!" Klaus stated, "You started the band with Diego! You and Ben had that whole plan! With the apartment and, and college! Keeping me sober! You both had to have been working on that for a while. Right?" He looked at her with pleading eyes as she shook her head.

"He had the apartment picked out, he only told me about it after he found me dumping five bags of your pills down the toilet." She looked at Klaus, "It was a coincidence that it was close to campus." Klaus stared at her before turning his gaze to Ben, who had his head bowed and hood over his eyes. "As for Diego" Vanya started, "He ditched me without a second thought." If Diego hadn't been fuming before, he was now. Before he could say anything, Vanya had already stood up and was starting to shuffle out of the room.

"We're not done yet," He said while rising to his feet.

"Diego, I just need a second."

"No this is something that should've been talked about a month ago." Diego grabbed Vanya's arm and that's when it happened. A wave of startling pale blue light shot from Vanya, hitting her brothers in the chest. Klaus found himself on the floor with shards of glass surrounding him. He could vaguely hear Vanya talking. She sounded like she was about to cry. Klaus looked up and saw her huddled against the wall, apologies flooding from her mouth. He should do something, but before he could move an inch, Vanya had bolted to her room. She came out a second later, coat wrapped around her shoulder's and something in her hand. Klaus realized she was leaving.

"Vanya, wait!" He called out to no avail. The door slammed shut and he slumped back onto the floor. Diego stood up and sat at the table, head in his hands. Klaus had yet to move and Ben was still walking the length of the room. It seemed that in the heat of the moment, the brothers had forgotten that their sister was a pint-sized power house. With a sigh, he stood up and sat at the table next to his brother. 

"What now?" He asked, and Diego just shrugged. They sit there for a long time, an hour or two at most. Neither had really moved, wanting to look for their sister but not knowing where to start, or if it would make things worse. Klaus had his arms crossed in front of his chest and Diego was twirling a knife. Ben had sat himself on the back of the couch, watching the door. The phone started to ring and they all looked at it, at each other then back at the phone. Diego shot up, walking over to answer.

"Hello?" Klaus and Ben watched with bated breath, "Yeah that's me... I remember you... What do you mean?... Shit, that was today. Is she still there?... Ok, thank you." He hung up the phone, and proceeded to land a punch on the wall, denting it.

"Everything good?" Klaus tentatively asked, Diego sighed turning around.

"That was Joyce-" "Joyce?" Ben looked at Klaus,

"Nurse who kept talking." Answered Ben.

"Oh, ok continue." Diego sighed at his brother.

"Vanya just left the hospital."

"What? She was there! Why?"

"Her appointment to get the cast off her arm was today. She went alone." Klaus let out a quiet 'shit' before asking,

"Did they know where she was going?"

"No." Klaus ran a hand down his face before standing up and grabbing his coat. "Where're you going?" Diego asked.

"To look for Vanya." Stated Klaus as he opened the door, "You coming?" He didn't wait for a response and hurried towards the stairs, smirking as he heard the door open and close. Diego's footsteps echoing after him.

The brother's piled into Diego's car before speeding off in search of Vanya. After a few minutes, they realized none of them knew where Vanya would go. They drove in circles for about an hour before Ben suggested checking the Argyle Library. Once there, they split up. Diego by himself and Ben with Klaus, scouring floor by floor but they all came up empty. Icarus was the second option. Rehearsal had just ended and there was a flood of musicians leaving, a few questions later showed the brother's that no one really seemed to know Vanya. The main response they got was 'Oh, the girl Peter kept going after? I haven't seen her since before Peter was sacked.' and other variations of that response. Diego had talked to the director and was told the only time he had talked to Vanya was just leaving a message on her machine, saying they replaced her for the winter concert, but she could re-audition for her spot once she was able to.

"That was depressing." Klaus said once they were back in the car. 

"Tell me about it." Muttered Diego. The three sat in silence, unsure of were to go next. Ben was looking down at the floor, studying the empty doughnut wrapper from Griddy's. Klaus had thumped his head on the dashboard and let out a sigh. Diego pulled away and drove down the road, not knowing were to go next. They stopped in random bookshops, cafes and even a few music stores but they couldn't find any sign of their sister. It wasn't until they drove past a random doughnut shop that Klaus yelled out,

"WE DIDN'T CHECK GRIDDY'S!" Diego looked at him, wide eyed before swearing and speeding off in the other direction. They screeched to a halt at a red light, Klaus let out a huff as he was thrown against his seat belt. The silence was tense before Klaus broke it,

"Hey what did she mean?" He asked, Ben shot him a glance as Diego answered,

"About what?"

"That you ditched her without a second thought. What'd she mean by that?" Diego looked at Klaus before looking back ahead. "Was she talking about when your guy's band split?"

"Yeah," He sighed before continuing, "We thought it was going good, then dad stuck his nose in it. Threatened to send her away if it continued. She just, accepted it. That it would end and we would continue like nothing had happened."

"What'd you do?" Klaus asked, Diego sighed again and started to drive when the light turned green.

"Told her 'screw the old man'. Said I was done being another toy soldier for him." He fell silent,

"But?"

"I left on the next mission without hesitation. It wasn't until after that I remembered we had agreed to meet with a local band, get some sort of touring gig started with them. Vanya didn't, she didn't say anything about it so I assumed she was waiting to tell me what had happened. So I waited for her to talk to me, for about a week." He shook his head, "I never did ask what happened." 

"What a trio we are." Ben muttered

"Don't start Ben," Said Klaus, "Out of the three of us, you were there for her the most."

"It wasn't enough, I could've done more." He sighed.

"Ben, you, you died. There wasn't any way for you to have know-" "I meant before dumb ass." Diego was switching his gaze between the road and the one-sided conversation going on.

"Pogo had mentioned he found Vanya going through your room, weeks, before I saw her dumping your drugs. It was weeks Klaus. I could've said something, anything before that. But I did nothing." He paused meeting Klaus' gaze, "I've been dead for about twelve years, I've had a long time to think. The main thing I think about is different ways I could've helped one of them, been there. But I didn't, because I was to scared of dad." Klaus just looked at him before saying,

"Dad wanted soldiers. He didn't want a family, so we never got any of the 'How to be Good Siblings' lessons like we were supposed to." Klaus turned back around and said, "Fuck dad."

They sat in silence for the rest of the drive. Ben with his hood over his eyes, Klaus was bouncing his leg and chewing his lip. Diego was focusing on the road, with the occasional glance at Klaus and the back seat where he assumed Ben was sitting. When they pulled into the parking lot at Griddy's, Ben pointed out a figure to Klaus. Said figure was sitting at one of the booths against the window with their head down. It was also Vanya. Klaus let out a sigh of relief and got out of the car before Diego had even pulled into a parking spot, running for the door. He flew through it, giving a small nod of greeting to Agnes and walked over to his sister.

"Hey Vanya," No response, "Can I sit?" Nothing. He looked up at Ben before sliding into the seat across from Vanya. Klaus immediately noticed a familiar orange cylinder with a white lid clasped tightly in her hands. "Maybe I should hold onto that." Klaus reached forwards, intending to pocket the pills, but his sister jerked her hands back out of his reach. He looked over at Ben, and saw Diego standing next the table. Diego hesitated before sliding in next to Klaus, and Ben sat next to their sister. Vanya didn't acknowledge them, keeping her head down and staying silent.

"Vanya? How long have you been sitting here?" She didn't answer, Diego sighed. He caught sight of what she was clutching and quickly shot his gaze back to her face.

"Did you take any?" She still didn't respond. "Vanya?" He reached out, swiftly clutching her hand before she could jerk away. Vanya let out a sharp breath, and slowly looked up. "How many did you take?" The only response was Vanya lowering her gaze back to the table. 

"We should get her home." Ben said. "We don't know how long she's been walking around. She most likely hasn't eaten anything, probably tired too." Klaus voiced the thoughts of his brother which Diego agreed too. Klaus and Diego were both ready to help their sister walk to the car, Diego gently pulled her out of the booth. He attempted to take the medication from Vanya but she pocketed them quickly, keeping her hand around the bottle. Klaus put a hand on her shoulder, about to help her shuffle out to the car, but was quickly shaken off. The brother's then noticed she had one of those elbow crutches, she most likely gotten it that morning at her appointment. They led her out to the car, Klaus flashing a reassuring (well, he hoped it was reassuring) smile at Agnes' worried expression as the siblings exited the building. 

Vanya tried getting into the back, but Klaus stopped her, opening the front passenger door. She just looked at the door for a minute before hesitantly getting in. Klaus closed the door behind her, casting a worried look towards Diego before slipping into the back seat next to Ben. He leaned forward, shuffling so he was between the two front seats, trying to catch Vanya's eye, but ultimately failed and sat back in his seat as Diego drove out onto the road. No one spoke, Klaus didn't try to turn on the radio and Vanya kept her gaze glued out the window. Ben had his hood pulled over his head again. It wasn't until they pulled up outside the apartment building that Diego began to speak.

"You know we're gonna have to talk about what happened." Vanya didn't answer, "Why'd you take the pills, Vanya?" She was silent, Diego seemed to have given up, but was shocked when she answered,

"I hurt you." Her voice was quiet and monotone.

"No, Vanya no. You didn't hurt us." Klaus began, "It was, we were just a little shocked at what happened. Nothing else Vanya, nothing else."

"He's right Vanya." Added Diego, "We didn't get hurt."

"This time."

"What?" Klaus asked.

"I didn't hurt you this time." She had taken the pills out of her pocket and was looking at them, "I need to make sure that doesn't happen." Klaus' mouth had dropped open and he was gaping at her like a fish.

"Vanya no. You, you can't keep drugging yourself-" "That's a bit hypocritical coming from you Klaus-" "And look how long it took for me to get sober!" She was about to retort but Diego cut her off,

"No Vanya, he's right. You, this isn't the answer. We can help you get through this."

"And what happens when I throw one of you out the window? What happens when one of you lands in the hospital because I couldn't control, whatever the hell this is?" Rain had started pounding against the car, coming down in hard.

"No. We, Ben and I watched Klaus destroy himself with drugs, now you're asking us to stand back and watch you do the exact same thing!" Diego's voice was raised and Klaus was just watching the interaction. 

"If it means I don't hurt anyone, yes." She was now looking at Diego, her voice deadly quiet, "And if you plan on fighting me about, then leave. The three of you leave." The brothers gaped at her, not knowing how to respond. Vanya took the shocked silence as her opportunity to open the door and exit the car. Diego reached out, trying to stop her from leaving but she got out before he could reach her. They watched her limp into the building and once she disappeared inside, Diego pummeled on the steering wheel. When Klaus knew he was done, he quietly asked,

"Should we follow her?" Diego didn't answer, only putting his head down against the wheel, not answering. Ben just had a frozen look of horror on his face. Klaus looked between his brothers before exiting the car to go after their sister.

Vanya had just opened the door to her apartment when Klaus got up to the second floor and was shuffling inside. He rushed forward, but wasn't fast enough and ran face first into the door with a thud. He stepped back, rubbing his nose before knocking quietly on the door.

"Vanya? Can we talk?" No response. "Vanya please, don't make the same mistake I did. Please. Please let us help you." He was pleading, no, begging Vanya at this point to open the door. Klaus stood outside her door for about five minutes before Ben appeared at his side.

"She's in her room. Klaus, we can't do anything right now."

"So what, we just, we just-" "She needs space right now. It'll hurt like hell, but you of all people know you can't help someone who won't accept it." Klaus looked at him, conflicted. He wanted to keep trying, show Vanya he wasn't afraid and didn't think she would hurt him. But Ben was right, she wouldn't accept their help, they would need to wait for her to go back to them. Klaus sighed before turning back to the door.

"We're not giving up on you Vanya. You need to remember that. Please remember that." With that, he walked out back towards the car. 


	20. Three Months Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanya has been avoiding her brothers for three months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Death, injury and drug use.

The last time Vanya had spoken to her brothers was mid-October, it was now the end of January. She had been taking one pill in the morning and one pill at night, with an unspecified amount in between. Vanya would take one anytime she had to leave her apartment, no matter how short her visit to the outside world was. If Vanya had so much as a bubble of feeling she would swallow a pill. She hated it. She hated those damn pills. The month after the incident, she felt more alive. She actually felt... Everything. No more muted expressions. No more shades of gray hanging around. There were actual feelings. The happiness that turned into laughter, the fear that turned into anger, the sadness that turned into guilt. Vanya missed all of it. 

There were many times, Vanya would hesitate before taking her medication, wanting nothing more than to drop the pill back into it's bottle. She almost did. But she would think back. Back to when her powers exploded, knocking her brothers off their feet. She couldn't see Klaus' face, but she could see Diego's. His face was filled with shock and surprise, but there was something else. It was there for a second, but she saw it. Fear. For a brief moment, there was unfiltered, un-hidden fear in her brother's face. Diego was afraid of her. She made him afraid of her. Vanya would often remind herself of that fact every time she took a pill. Every time she hesitated or entertained the idea of not taking one. Her brother was afraid of her. Vanya could handle Diego's anger, his resentment, she faced that enough as a child, but seeing him scared...

Vanya shook her head before dry swallowing a pill and walked out the door. Today was a good day. Vanya had gotten about six hours of sleep and her leg wasn't hurting so she was able to walk without her crutch. In a way, Vanya could pretend nothing had happened if she ignored her limp. She also ignored the side glances she got at orchestra. Ignored the looks given to her by the parents of her students. Ignored the new curly haired barista with hand tattoos at the coffee shop a few blocks away from her apartment. Ignored the beat up muscle car that would be parked outside her apartment and the theater. Ignored the fact there would be an extra box of mint tea inside her cabinet. Ignored how her fridge never seemed to run out of the bare essentials. Ignored the scuff marks on her window sill. Even ignored the scratches on her doorknob. As she exited her apartment, she shot a quick glance down the street and yep. There it was, the same old third hand car that Diego drove parked a little ways down the street. Vanya shook her head and walked in the other direction towards Icarus. 

Rehearsal ran smoothly. Well, almost. Vayna noticed someone sitting in one of the balcony seats, unable to make out who it was due to the shadows covering their face. It was a tad unsettling. Once they were released, Vanya shot a glance at the balcony, but it was empty. She shook her uneasy feeling off as paranoia and exited the theater, taking note of the darkening sky. It was only seven o'clock, but it was also winter. With a shake of her head, Vanya walked over to the payphone intending to call a cab. She was in the middle of putting her coins in when a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, causing her to drop the change.

"Jesus!" Vanya exclaimed and turned around, coming face to face with her brother. "What the hell?"

"I'm taking you home," Diego stated, "Michelson just exited the theater and is walking over here." Vanya looked at her brother, then shot a glance around him and saw he was right. Peter Michelson was stalking towards them at a fast pace, seemingly unconcerned that Diego was there. With a sharp intake of breath, Vanya looked back at Diego and nodded.

He looped an arm around her shoulder, ignoring the way she tensed, and led her down the street towards his car. He made sure Vanya got in first, taking a quick look around, and got in on his own side. Diego peeled out onto the street without a second thought. Vanya had hunched in on herself and was pressed up against the door, making sure to put as much distance between herself and her brother. Despite the pills she had taken during the day, there was a well of anxiety opening in the pit of her stomach. She looked over at Diego, making sure he was focused on the road before opening the bottle as discreetly as possible.

"How many of those have you taken today?" Fuck, he noticed. 

"Does it matter?" She asked, pulling one out and quickly dry swallowing it.

"Yeah it does. You're popping them like candy Vanya, it can't be good for you." Vanya didn't answer, instead pocketing the pills and looking out the window. Diego sighed before continuing,

"We're worried about you. We know you haven't been eating. We know you barely sleep. And when you do, you're on the couch, which can't be good for your leg." Diego paused, waiting for her to say something. "Allison called, said you stopped answering the phone." She still didn't say anything.

It wasn't surprising to Vanya that they knew some of what she did inside the apartment, it was obvious they would've sent Ben to check on her. She was a tad bit mad about the invasion of privacy, but figured she deserved it. They needed to make sure she didn't break anything or anyone. As for Allison...

Vanya had thought of different ways dad could've made her forget she had powers, only one stood out as possible. Her sister could bend reality to her will with only four words, it would make sense she would be able to do something like that. Vanya had been angry at Allison, angry at what she had done. But the more she thought about it, the more the anger disappeared. She had started taking the pills when she was around four, so that must have been when dad shut her down, which meant Allison was just a child. A child who most likely didn't understand what her father was asking. Vanya has wanted to talk to Allison about it, see if she remembers. There were many times Vanya had wanted to pick up the phone when she called but, she had no idea what to say. In a way, she was afraid. Afraid of how Allison would react to learning that Vanya had hurt their brothers, that is, if they hadn't told her what happened already.

"Does she know?" Vanya timidly asked.

"She knows about your powers," Diego said, "and the argument. She's worried about you, Vanya." Worried?

"Why?" 

"'Why?' Vanya I know this is currently hard to wrap your head around, but we are worried about you. Not what you may do or what could happen because of you. We're worried about you. Allison flew out as soon as we told her what happened. We had to convince her not to break your door down." Diego's voice was raised and she lowered her gaze to the floor. "We just want to make sure you're ok." He softened his voice, hoping to pull his sister out of her shell.

"I'm fine," Whispered Vanya, "You can stop worrying." Diego looked at her, clenched his jaw and said,

"You're not, Vanya. We know you're not." 

They fell into a tense silence, not speaking as they pulled up on front of her apartment building. Vanya muttered a quick thanks before slipping out of the car, ignoring her brother calling for her. She walked as quickly as she could up to her apartment, locking the door behind her. Vanya didn't bother turning on the lights, dropping her bag and violin onto the floor while stumbling over to the couch. She reached into her pocket taking her pills out, dry swallowing three and letting out a sob. Vanya covered her mouth with her hand, stifling them as much as she could before speaking,

"Please leave." She whispered, "Ben if you're here please leave." Vanya had no idea if her deceased brother was in the room with her, but she felt the need to beg him to leave in case he was. She curled up on the couch, turning away from the window. If it weren't for the siren that went off about an hour later, she would not have noticed the red and blue lights flashing outside.

* * *

Ben had taken to following Vanya, maybe more than following Klaus. He knew Klaus would be fine, he started a full time job at a coffee shop and was helping Diego when he could at the gym. It was a good way to keep his mind off drugs. So when Ben knew that Klaus was with someone who wouldn't let him run off, Ben was with Vanya. He waited a few days after the argument, hoping Vanya would call, but when she didn't, Ben went over to her apartment to check on her.

She was pacing the length of the room when he arrived. Ben immediately noticed the changes in her apartment. Her sink had almost all of her unbroken coffee mugs, the couch's throw blanket was rumpled at the end as if someone had been using it and the pillow was indented as if it was used frequently. Ben sat in the chair, watching her. Vanya paced and paced until she sat down on the couch, dry swallowing one of her pills. She reached out for the blanket, wrapping it around her before laying down on the couch. Even then she didn't fall asleep, Vanya tossed and turned, got back up to walk around before settling back down. When Vanya did fall asleep, she would awaken an hour or two later from a nightmare. Ben watched as she calmed herself down, dry swallow a pill and pace the room. Vanya didn't go back to sleep and started drinking coffee well before the first sign of dawn. Ben didn't leave her side well into the afternoon before returning to his brothers. 

It became routine for him, he would stay with his brothers during the day and stay with his sister during the night. Observing her start to deteriorate in front of his eyes. She barely ate or slept, and seemed to run only on coffee and the medication. Her skin became extremely pale and her hands shook anytime she played the violin. She rarely left the apartment unless absolutely necessary, which meant she only really left when she had rehearsal. Once Klaus was told how Vanya was doing, he insisted that they go back, make sure nothing happened to her, but Diego said no, they couldn't push her. But that didn't stop the brothers from breaking into her apartment while she was asleep or gone in order to put groceries in her fridge and Klaus always made sure there was an extra box of tea among the essentials. Once Klaus started working, Diego would spend his time waiting outside the apartment. He claimed he was just making sure Vanya was ok, but Ben kept saying he was bordering onto stalking territory. 

Tonight though, Klaus had the closing shift and told Ben he didn't need to wait up. So Ben walked to Icarus and watched their sister play. He sat in the front row throughout the rehearsal, not noticing the other man in the audience. He followed Vanya out, noticing how she kept looking over her shoulder. Ben cast a glance behind him, but didn't see anyo- oh FUCK! Peter fucking Michelson was following his sister out of the theater. Klaus wasn't here so Ben wouldn't be able to protect Vanya, and she was taking her pills so she wouldn't be able to protect herself. He could only watch as Vanya put her coins in the payphone, but sighed in relief when he say a familiar and welcoming figure approach Vanya. Ben observed the interaction between Vanya and Diego, hoping she would accept the ride home and sighed in relief when she agreed. He cast one last glare at Michelson before he flitted into the backseat of Diego's car.

He sat silently as his siblings conversed, wishing he could interact with them. When Vanya got out of the car, he followed her. Ben fully prepared to stay another night with his sister, but was surprised when Vanya began to speak to him.

"Please leave," Whispered Vanya, "Ben if you're here please leave." Ben was heart broken, but couldn't do anything as she pressed her face into the back of the couch. He sighed, debating whether or not to stay. Ben decided to stay until Klaus got off, which was in a few hours. He sat across from his sister, about forty-five minutes passed when there was a loud siren accompanied by flashing lights outside. A look out the window sent him into a panic and had Ben rushing down the stairs to the exit. Ben was sure if he were still alive, he would have gone into shock and passed out. 

In front of him were two cop cars with four officers that he had never seen before, arresting his brother. Diego was pressed against his car and was being cuffed while one of the officers was stating his Miranda Rights. 

"What the hell's going on?" His brother questioned,

"You're being arrested."

"Yeah no shit. Why am I being arrested?" Before the officer could answer, a familiar voice rang out.

"What are you doing to my brother?" Everyone turned and saw Vanya limping out of the building disbelief written all over her face. One of the officers stepped up and stopped her from getting any closer.

"Ma'am I'm going to need you to stay back. We have this situation under control."

"What are you doing to my brother?" Vanya repeated,

"We just have a few questions for hi-" "That's bullshit! You wouldn't be cuffing him if you were just going to ask him questions!"

"Jones," An officer called out, "She's the one who was assaulted." The officer in front of Vanya turned back.

"You're Vanya Hargreeves." He sighed, "Was Diego with you?"

"Yes, he- he drove me home from rehearsal. What the hell is going on?"

"We'll need you to come down to the station to answer some questions. It's about Peter Michelson."

"What the hell does he have to do with this?" She asked incredulously.

"He was found dead outside Icarus Theater, your brother is the main suspect." Vanya and Ben looked at the officer in shock, "If you don't mind, I can drive you down to the station."

"No I, I'll call a cab." The officer let out a sigh before nodding and turning around back to his cruiser. The siblings watched as Diego shot one last glance back towards them as he was shoved into the back of the car before it drove off. 

Vanya shot back up to her apartment with Ben at her heels. He watched as she scrambled for her coat and crutch, but paused to dry swallow a pill before limping as fast as she could out of the apartment. He followed her down the street towards the, oh, he didn't know Vanya knew were Klaus worked. She walked up to the counter as Ben headed into the back were Klaus was currently taking a break with one of his coworkers.

"KLAUS!" He shot his head up, "Vanya's out in the café, Diego's been arrested." Before Klaus could respond, another barista entered the room,

"Hey Klaus? There's some girl out here saying she's your sister?" Klaus shot up and strode outside, looking around until he spotted Vanya.

"Vanya?" She looked at him nervously as he walked over." What's going on?" 

"Diego was just arrested outside my apartment. They, they think he killed Peter." Klaus stared in shock before turning and headed over to the barista from earlier. They had a quick discussion before Klaus ran to the back, and ran back out about five minutes later throwing his coat around his shoulders before saying,

"Let's go." The siblings rushed outside and towards the precinct. It was probably not the best idea running/limping all the way to the precinct due to Vanya's leg, but there wasn't anytime waiting for a taxi. 

They arrived at the station about fifteen minutes later, and Ben noticed a familiar silver car pulling up to the curb. Klaus stopped Vanya from walking past as the car's door opened and out came,

"Allison?" 


	21. Questions, questions and questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who the hell killed Michelson?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Sexual assault, injury, drug use and death.

Klaus sighed in relief at the sight of Allison. She looked around for a moment before spotting them and rushing over. 

"Are you guys alright?" Allison didn't let them respond as she wrapped her arms around the two of them. Klaus immediately returned the gesture, the rose scented perfume his sister wore filling his senses. Though, he sadly realized Vanya was as stiff as a board next to him. He pulled away slightly and caught sight of Ben watching with a mix of sadness and fondness, Klaus made a mental note to make him corporeal later.

"What the hell happened?" Asked Allison,

"Diego got arrested," Vanya replied quietly, "They think he killed Peter." Allison let out a quiet 'oh god' before placing a hand on Vanya's shoulder, but her face shuttered when Vanya shrugged her off. Klaus made eye contact with her before saying,

"We should go inside." His sisters nodded and followed him through the door. 

The station was a buzz with activity, officers were brining people in, answering phone calls and there seemed to be a small argument happening in the corner. An officer approached the three of them and asked them to sit down. The siblings sat in the chairs off to the side, worried. Klaus was bouncing his leg, Vanya was twisting one of her coat sleeves, Allison had her arms crossed with her lip being worried between her teeth and Ben was pacing. They sat for a while until an officer with the name 'Jones' under his badge approached them.

"Ms. Hargreeves, if you could follow me-" "Where's Diego?" He paused, clearly not expecting to be interrupted by the way his face twisted. "In interrogation. Now if you could follow me to somewhere private so you can answer some question." The man's tone left no room for argument, Vanya let out a shaky breath and followed him out into another room. Leaving Klaus, Allison and Ben behind to wait.

They sat in silence, not knowing what to do. Allison had moved to sit next to Klaus, grabbing the hand he was currently chewing the nails of, studying it. He sighed, placing his head on her shoulder and Ben sat on the other side of him.

"Your nail polish is chipped, I'll need to fix that once we get out of here." Allison gave Klaus a week smile, "I think a purple or dark blue would look good. Maybe a green."

"Why just one? Lets use all the colors. Maybe we can convince Diego to let us paint his." They each let out a quiet laugh. "Have you, have you talked to Claire?" Allison's smile dropped from her face as she shook her head.

"Patrick, he's worried I'll rumor her again. I mean, he has a right to be worried, and not believe me when I say I won't do it again." She sighed, "I just, I wish it didn't take losing Claire to make me realize how, bad, I was making things." Klaus squeezed her hand. 

"Yeah. You know, a wise annoying asshole once told me 'You always dig yourself into a hole Klaus, and never realize how far you've dug until you can't get out on your own, dipshit.' Though, the situation was more pertaining to drugs than anything else." Both Ben and Allison gave him a look.

"Ben told you that didn't he?" He nodded, "I'm a bit curious to the situation you got yourself into, but also at the same time don't think I want to know." Klaus gave a huff of laughter.

"You would also need to be more specific on which situation you want to know about. I've got a few years worth of stories with that answer." Allison began to shake with silent laughter and Klaus gave himself a point. The three descended into a comfortable silence for about fifteen minutes until a very angry Detective Patch walked up to them.

"Detective?" She stood infront of the siblings, taking a deep breath before speaking,

"First things first, I'm going to be apologizing for my coworkers. Diego was only supposed to be questioned, not arrested. Two out of the four officers are fresh out of the academy while the others are more senior, and I'm not going to lie, aren't Diego's biggest fans." That made sense, even though Diego had taken a break from late night vigilantism, it didn't mean he became automatic friends with the entire police department. "They convinced the captain to let them question him. Though when he agreed, he didn't think they would arrest and charge him."

"Second, we are still going over evidence, so Diego shouldn't have been arrested in the first place. Now I can't give details, but the only reason he was really suspected, is all the, knife related injuries, Michelson sustained before being killed. Third, if Diego and Vanya's stories match up, that should give him an alibi around the time Michelson was killed." The siblings nodded before Allison asked,

"Do you know how long it will take?" Patch shook her head.

"We're still going over evidence, so that may take a while. But like I said, if their stories match up, we may not have to wait that long before he is released." They sat processing this as Patch was called away by Beaman, something about a security tape. Ben began to pace again, and Klaus still clutched Allison's hand in his. 

* * *

To say Patch was pissed, would be a serious understatement. She understood their reasoning for not letting her question Diego, but what the hell? She thought Jones would at least have more tact than just arresting him without concrete evidence. She shook her head, a clear head was needed at the moment. Beaman had said that they finally got the security tape from the alley where Michelson was found, hoping that it would clear things up. 

Eudora was in a room with a tv set up with Beaman, Captain Lupo, and the three other officers who arrested Diego. Jones was still talking to Vanya. Beaman put the tape in and started it, their attention was glued to screen as the picture appeared. The audio was nothing but static.

"What the hell is that noise?" One of the officers asked,

"It's a shitty camera, be glad we at least got the picture." Beaman said.

It showed Michelson stumbling into the alley, a knife visibly sticking out of the back of his knee. He fell to the ground as another stuck itself into his shoulder. They watched as he tried crawling away and another figure entered the alley.

"What the hell?" Patch whispered.

Even though they couldn't see the person's face, it was obviously not Diego. The person was short, maybe around Vanya's height, and was wearing knee socks? It looked like, a kid? What the actual fuck, it was a kid! The kid stood over Michelson, placing a foot over his throat and leaning down. Since there was no noise they couldn't hear what was being said, but they could see him shove a knife through Michelson's eye and watch him bleed out. Apparently it was taking to long so the kid jammed another knife through his windpipe. It did the trick, since Michelson stopped moving and the kid stood up, wiped some of the excess blood onto his, blazer? Is that what the kid was wearing? The kid walked away, keeping his face hidden from the camera and walked out of view. What was even weirder was the blue flash of light that reflected off the wall.

The officers sat in stunned silence as the VHS was spit back out. Lupo turned towards Patch and said,

"Detective, tell Hargreeves he's free to go. And if Jones gives you problems send him to my office." She nodded and walked out.

Patch walked over to interrogation room and opened the door. Diego was sitting quietly, messing with the cuffs that connected him to the table, it took him a moment to realize she was in the room. She entered and unlocked him while explaining,

"There was a security camera in the alley, clearly showing you were not the one who killed him." Diego nodded before asking,

"Who did?" Patch shot him a look, "Right right, chain of evidence and all the paperwork bullshit." He said with a smirk.

"C'mon, we need to save your sister from Jones." They walked over to the room down the hall, and could clearly hear someone yelling. Patch and Diego looked at each other before rushing towards the room.

"-ell me what the damn argument about?!?!" Patch burst though the door with Diego behind her, Jones was leaning over the table with spit flying from his mouth and Vanya cowering in her seat. He immediately straightened up and turned on them.

"What the hell Patch? Hargreeves is under arrest! He's not suppose to leave interrogation!"

"Lupo said talk to him. Diego and his sister are both free to go." He sputtered something unintelligent, ready to argue when Patch said, "Talk to Lupo." Jones cast a glare at the three of them before storming out. Once the door was slammed behind him, Diego rushed to Vanya quietly asking if she was ok.

"I don't think he likes you that much." Patch couldn't help the laugh that she let out.

"You should have him tell you the story of when he broke Jones' nose." Diego turned towards her,

"I thought we agreed never to speak of that." Eudora just gave him a smirk before leading them out to their siblings. 

Patch couldn't help but notice the way Vanya tensed when Diego put an arm around her shoulders. She knew the siblings had an argument, but didn't know the full context of it, she only knew it ended with Vanya avoiding her brothers. Patch knew better than to fully immerse herself in the problems of the Hargreeves family, she would only end up being more confused and have more questions that she was prepared to deal with. She watched as Klaus untangled himself from Allison and rushed over to his siblings. He seemed to hold himself back from wrapping Vanya in a hug, but still patted her briefly on the shoulder. The four siblings conversed for a while, then quickly exited the building.

* * *

Allison stopped her rental car in front of Vanya's apartment building, but behind Diego's beat up travesty of a car. The siblings exited the car and entered the building, following Vanya up to her apartment. They entered behind her, quickly taking note of the dour environment it had become. From what her brothers told her, Allison knew Vanya's apartment was bare, but this? The sink was full of coffee mugs, a bag and violin were haphazardly thrown across the floor, and the couch was made up as if Vanya had been using it to sleep instead of her own bed. A look at Diego showed that he had an idea of what had been going on, but didn't know how to make it stop.

Vanya settled herself on the couch dry swallowed a pill, and immediately had the bottle snatched away from her by a blue glowing hand. A blue hand that was connected to her brother, dead brother, Ben. Vanya, to her credit, didn't seem too surprised at the specter of their brother, just looked at the ground avoiding his gaze. Ben tossed the bottle to Diego who promptly pocketed it as Klaus plopped next to Vanya on the couch and wrapped her in the blanket.

"I'm not dissociating Klaus." Vanya mumbled,

"And?"

"And why are you wrapping me in a blanket?" He just shrugged as Ben sat on the arm of couch next to her. Allison watched as the two tried getting her to talk and Diego head into the kitchen. With one last look at the three on the couch, she walked over and stood next to Diego by the sink. They both started working on cleaning up the mugs in the sink.

"You said the pills block her powers?" Diego nodded,

"Ben says she takes one anytime she needs to leave the apartment. She's convinced it's the only way to keep her from hurting someone." He sighed. "Maybe you should talk with her." Allison shook her head,

"That's not a good idea Diego." Diego looked at her confused, "I've thought over everything. Dad gave her pills to shut her powers down, but wouldn't she remember having them?" She paused, wondering how to continue.

"Allison?"

"I, don't know where we were, or how we got there. But I remember what dad made me say." Diego looked at her, comprehension dawning on his face, "I did this to her." Allison couldn't look at Diego, opting to stare down at the mug in her hand.

"Allison? What'd he make you say?" She took a shuddering breathe,

"You think you're just ordinary." Allison shut her eyes, waiting for him to yell, tell her that this was all her fault, but was shocked at what he did instead. Diego hugged her. He hugged her. Allison couldn't honestly say the last time they did, if they ever did.

"It's not your fault." He whispered, "It's not your fault Allison, it'd dad's. Dad's and no one else's." Allison hugged him back, holding back tears. 

She would make this right. With Vanya, her siblings, Claire. Her powers easily destroyed Vanya's life, could've destroyed Claire's, she would be damned if she didn't try to make it up to them. It may have been dad who made her say those words, but she shoved the memory away without a second thought. Allison knew Vanya had remembered, she wouldn't look Allison in the eye and shrugged off any physical contact she tried to initiate. God, Vanya must hate her, she needed to make it right. 


	22. Please, let us Help You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison, Diego, Klaus and Ben try to convince Vanya to let them help her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Panic attack, mention of murder and assault.

A few hours later, Klaus was wrapped around Vanya like an octopus on the couch, Allison had curled up in a chair and Diego slouched against the window. Ben had flickered from existence awhile ago, signaling Klaus' descent into sleep, followed shortly by their siblings. Vanya was still awake. She had watched her siblings drift of and Ben disappear, but couldn't find it in her self to relax or try to sleep. Vanya was tense, she felt slightly suffocated. She had accepted that none of her siblings would set foot in the apartment after what happened and quickly grew used to the empty atmosphere. She wouldn't lie and say she didn't miss her brothers staying with her, but knew it was necessary. Vanya didn't know what she would do if she hurt them, or worse. Since she rarely left the apartment, it started to become suffocating. It got to the point Vanya would begin to panic with her students, the younger ones would hug her, saying they missed her while her teenage students and their parents would continually ask if she was okay. Vanya hated it, normally she would be able to have conversations with her students, be able to listen to them, but if they stepped to close or unexpectedly reached towards her, Vanya would jump or flinch back. It didn't matter how many pills she took, any close contact could and would send her spiraling. So Vanya distanced herself, mentally and physically. 

Now she was on the couch, a brother against the window, her sister in front of her, a brother holding her and a dead brother somewhere in the room. To say Vanya felt claustrophobic would be an understatement. Vanya wanted nothing more than to run out of the room to escape the feeling, but Diego was still holding her pills hostage. Even though Vanya had a refill hidden in her fridge, she wouldn't put it past Ben to wake Klaus up in order to stop her. But she needed to move. So with great difficulty, and as carefully as she could, Vanya untangled herself from Klaus and shuffled to the bathroom, not noticing that he woke up.

Vanya turned the light on and quietly shut the door before sitting on the toilet lid, putting her head in her hands. It had been a few hours since her last dose, and she was trying to think of ways to get either her refill or the bottle from Diego. Getting the refill seemed to be the best option, but how to get it without the others noticing? She must have sat there longer than she realized because there was a soft knock at the door,

"Vanya?" It was Klaus, "You okay? You've been in their awhile..." With a sigh she stood up and opened the door. Klaus was on the other side, wringing his hands nervously with a look of concern plastered on his face. Vanya gave Klaus a tight smile and stepped around him, moving towards the kitchen. Her brother followed, sitting next to her at the table. Vanya's gaze was down, she had hoped Klaus would've either used the bathroom or gone back to the couch so she would've been able to grab her refill. They sat silently, the only sound being Klaus fidgeting in his chair. Vanya wanted to reach out, ask if he was struggling with cravings, if she could do anything.

No! No! Vanya couldn't. She made a choice. She couldn't let herself get close again, she couldn't hurt them again. It hurt like hell, pushing them away. Her siblings were with her, acknowledging her. It felt like she actually had her family. But she hurt them. She hurt them before with the book, and after, in this very room. Vanya would not do that again.

Which is why Vanya pulled her hand away when Klaus tried to hold it, ignoring how his eye's filled with sadness. She couldn't break, not now. She needed to protect them.

Klaus didn't try to reach out again, but sat quietly at her side while picking at his nail polish. Vanya pretended not to notice the side glances he kept giving her. They sat at the table for hours, and finally, Klaus' eyes began to droop. His eyes would close, only for him to shoot them back open a second later, but the time between opening them grew longer, and longer. Until they closed and his head had slumped onto the table. Vanya waited until his breathing had evened out, then waited a few minutes more before limping over to the fridge. She opened it, pulled out her pills and walked as quickly as she could into her bedroom.

Even though her landlord had fixed her window months ago, the room still seemed to have a bone chilling cold that would not leave. Vanya shivered and took a pill. She curled up against the headboard, shoving the bottle behind the pillows and pinning a blank gaze at the wall. Vanya didn't think she fell asleep, but one moment the door was closed, and the next Allison was standing beside her with the sun peeking through the closed blinds in the room. Vanya ran a hand down her face before looking up at her sister, meeting the concerned gaze that was aimed for her.

"Are you okay?" Vanya nodded, "Are you sure?" She looked away and nodded again. Allison's hand hovered over her shoulder, but was quickly retracted when Vanya flinched away. Allison cleared her throat before continuing.

"Klaus and I are going to get breakfast. Is, is there anything you want?" Allison asked. Vanya didn't say anything and shook her head. "Are you sure?"

"Not hungry." She heard Allison sigh before hunching further away. 

"Okay, well, Diego will still be here, if, if you need anything. Klaus and I shouldn't take too long, but you know how indecisive he can be." Vanya felt her mouth twitch, but said nothing. Allison waited a few more seconds before walking towards the door and paused. She turned around, as if to say something else, but thought better of it and exited the room. A few seconds later, Vanya heard the door open and close, signaling their departure, leaving just one sibling in the apartment. (Or two? Was Ben still here? Shit, did he see her take her refill?) 

The silence that had settled was broken only by her brother's footsteps in the other room. She could hear him pacing, back and forth, back and forth. Diego seemed to pause every so often in the hall outside her room for a few seconds before beginning again. Vanya didn't move, staring at the wall, reached for her refill under the pillows and took a pill. Then another. She didn't realize her brother was standing in the doorway with a frown on his face. Vanya just shoved the pills back behind the pillow and hunched up against the headboard, staring at the wall. 

Vanya felt herself drift, not knowing if it was exhaustion or dissociation. Overall, Vanya couldn't find it in herself to care.

* * *

It was about an hour and a half later when Allison found herself walking up the stairs towards her sister's apartment. They had stopped at a small café for breakfast ordering waffles for Klaus, french toast for Allison, some type of healthy pancakes for Diego ("He keeps saying his body is a temple but willingly cracks raw eggs into his mouth. I'm thinking the next intervention that happens is for him!") and a stack of buttermilk pancakes for Vanya. Even though she said she wasn't hungry, Allison got them for her, just in case she changed her mind. 

Klaus opened the door, walking inside while loudly proclaiming,

"BREAKFAST!"

Allison felt a smile creep on her face at her brother, but let out a laugh at Diego.

"What?" He asked,

"Nothing! It's just," She paused to catch her breath, "You didn't hear us come in?" 

"No, I heard you."

"Then why does it look like you jumped out of your skin?" Asked Allison with a smirk on her face. She let out a laugh as Diego floundered for an answer and set the bags on the table. Klaus opened his container, drowning his waffles in syrup before diving into them like a man who hasn't eaten in days.

"Dude, have some waffles with that syrup." Diego said

"You, have no room to talk. Mr. 'I-eat-raw-eggs-for-all-my-meals." Scoffed Allison as she handed him his food.

"It's a good source of protein!" He protested

"It's RAW EGGS Diego! It's disgusting!" Allison said as she wrinkled her nose.

"She's got a point. Ben and I have been scarred by you. You and your disgusting eating habits." Klaus gave a dramatic shudder, "Vanya is very lucky she never had to witness that, probably would've traumatized her further." Allison shook her head, grabbing the container of buttermilk pancakes and went back to Vanya's room as her brothers argued back and forth about Diego's eating habits.

Allison knocked on the door before entering. Vanya hadn't moved, she was still curled up against the headboard with her eyes closed. Was she asleep? Not wanting to wake her up if she was, Allison turned around and quietly left the room. The boys seemed to have settled down slightly, but Diego was still grumbling about the nutritional value of eggs. She sat next to Klaus, setting down their sister's pancakes and opening her own breakfast. They ate in silence for a short while, until Klaus asked,

"Is Vanya awake?" Allison sighed and gave a shrug.

"Her eyes were closed, so probably." Klaus gave a nod, returning to what was left of his waffles.

"She shouldn't be left alone." Diego said, "She has another bottle of pills, took a few after you guys left." He ran a hand down his face.

"Did you take it? The medication?" He shook his head, "What the hell Diego? Why not?" Allison was half out of her seat, intending to stop her sister from taking any more, but a hand on her arm from Diego made her pause.

"It's shoved behind a pillow on her bed. The only way to get it would be to physically move her." She sat back down, jabbing her fork into the food with anger. A few minutes later, Klaus straightened in his seat. He appeared to be listening to something (Ben?).

"Vanya's up, Ben says it looks like she's getting ready to leave." As if on cue, Vanya limped out into the hallway past her siblings, not acknowledging them. They watched as she wrapped a scarf around her neck and pick up her violin from where Diego had rested it against the wall.

"Hey Vanya," Klaus greeted. She didn't respond. "Early morning rehearsal?" Nothing. She only opened the door and walked out. Diego and Allison were both fully prepared to follow her, but Klaus stopped them, "Ben's with her, if anything happens he'll let us know." They nodded before finishing up their breakfast. Allison sighed, looking at the dejected stack of pancakes still in it's container. She resolved to put it in the fridge for Vanya to eat later. The three of them cleaned up their mess, then sat awkwardly in the living room. It didn't feel right, they were sitting in their sister's apartment, without their sister. This wasn't the first time it had been the three of them in a room together, but...

"Klaus," He looked at her, "I never fixed your nail polish." Allison stood up and walked over to her bag. Before getting breakfast, the two stopped at her hotel room so Allison could grab a few things. One of which, was a 'small' collection of nail polish that she brought specifically to use with Klaus. It contained almost every different color and shade that had been thought of. Diego looked at the handfuls that were placed on the coffee table with a raised eyebrow.

"How many people's nails are you painting?" Allison just laughed, grabbed Klaus' hand and set to work removing the chipped polish.

Klaus' hands were a rainbow of different colors, he had been unable to decide on just one. Allison's were mixed shades of purple and red. They had finally managed to convince Diego to paint his. And by 'convince' they chased him around the apartment for a good twenty minutes, with him ending up on the kitchen floor, Klaus sitting on his stomach to keep him from moving and his left hand being held in Allison's with her carefully laying thick coats of black across his nails. He'd been grumbling quietly when the sound of the door opening startled them and their sister stepped back inside.

Vanya seemingly did a double take at the sight in front of her, and Allison didn't blame her. Diego was on his back with Klaus sitting cross-legged on his stomach and Allison applying nail polish to their brothers hands. She stood there for a while before shaking her head. Vanya was about to go back to her room, but Klaus jumped off Diego and walked over to her.

"We're painting nails Vanny! Allison did mine, she did a good job." He held his hand out for her to inspect. She looked down, and nodded. "Allison is doing Diego's. Can, can I do yours?" Vanya seemed to shrink away slightly at the idea, and looked deep in thought. Klaus reached out, gently taking her hand and inspected the nails. "Dark blue should look good, is that ok?" Allison didn't have a clear view of Klaus' face, but she could see Vanya's. Vanya seemed wary, afraid to move. Even from where Allison was sitting, she could tell Vanya was trembling slightly. She avoided Klaus' gaze, fiddled with the strap of her violin. Allison held her breath when Vanya locked eyes with her and gave, a small encouraging smile. Vanya's mouth twitched before giving Klaus a small nod to which Klaus giddily clapped and scrambled over to the coffee table as Vanya set her violin down.

Allison shook her head and shot an amused glance at Diego who merely rolled his eyes. Klaus led Vanya over to where they were sitting and had her sit next to Diego, making sure her bad leg was laid out straight. Klaus showed her about six different shades of blue before settling on an aquamarine and began to quietly work on her fingers. The four (five? Was Ben here? Klaus said he was with Vanya, so he must be back?) sat in a comfortable silence, Allison and Klaus painting their siblings nails. Diego had sat up fully when Allison finished with his first hand, and wrapped his arm around Vanya's shoulder. It didn't go unnoticed when their sister flinched, causing her hand to be jerked out of Klaus' and the nail polish to be smeared across her fingers.

"I, I'm sorry I-" "No sweat Vanya it's fine! Easy fix, just uh, where'd the remover go?" Klaus stood up and headed over to the coffee table, looking for the polish remover. Diego had moved away from Vanya, trying to give her as much space as possible. Allison, filled with concern, looked over at Vanya, and saw she was shaking violently. 

"Vanya are you okay?"

"What?"

"You're shaking are you okay?" Allison reached out, trying to take Vanya's hand but she flinched back again. 

"I'm fine I... I think you should go. Please, please go." Vanya stood up on shaky legs, and wasn't looking at either of them.

"Wait, what? No. Vanya," Allison straightened up to stand next to her, "This isn't something you should be going through alone! We, we want to help you!" But Vanya kept shaking her head and stepping away, not turning her back on them, as if she was...

No, Vanya, Vanya wasn't scared of them. Couldn't be scared of them! Right?

"Vanya she's right, what's happening, this isn't something you should go through alone." Added Klaus.

"Vanya," Diego started, he stepped towards her, "Remember what I told you? When you were still in the hospital? I told you we were going to see you through that nightmare an-" "And you did." Diego seemed taken aback.

"Anders is in jail, Peter is... Peter is dead. That's done, it's over. You don't have to worry about me anymore." She tried to walk away, but Diego stopped her.

"Those assholes got what they deserved, but what happened still bothers you. It'll take more than three months to get over it. And on top of that, you've got this crazy new power shit going on and-" "And I'm handling it."

"No, those pills aren't helping!" Exclaimed Allison

"She's right Van. And, and if we can't convince you, Ben should be able to! He says its not a good idea!" Klaus' hands started to shimmer and Ben's form seemed to bleed into existence. Before he could say anything though, Vanya interrupted him.

"Stop, just all of you stop!" Her breathing was heavy and fast, "Just, go! Please!" With one last gasping breath, Vanya took of down the hall to her room and slammed the door. They stood in silence and Ben walked over, hugging Allison. She numbly wrapped her arms around him, and was vaguely aware of Diego and Klaus packing up the nail polish. It wasn't until Ben flickered out of sight that she realized her brothers were standing by the door.

"We, we can't just leave her!" Klaus shook his head,

"She doesn't want us to stay." He said.

"So, what we just give up?!"

"Allison, we're not giving up okay? She-he," Diego stopped and clenched his jaw before continuing, "She needs time, and won't accept help right now." Allison shook her head and looked towards the closed door at the end of hall. Letting out a sigh, she nodded and headed out the door, her brothers trailing behind her.

"My flight leaves tomorrow," Allison said once they were outside. "I still need to pack. Call me if anything happens?"

"You know we will." Answered Klaus. She nodded, blinking back unshed tears and grabbing her nail polish from Diego. With one last nod to her brothers, Allison jumped back into her car and drove off.

Soon, January turned to February. Allison was still attending her therapy sessions, trying to get visitation and see her daughter. Her brothers still called with updates. Klaus had a close call relapse, but had been doing alright, at the moment. Diego, according to Klaus, had dived headfirst into his life of a vigilante. There were numerous times Klaus had to pick him up from the station. Neither had talked to Vanya in person. Both had run into her and left messages on her machine, but she had yet to actually talk to them. Allison was worried about all of her siblings, Klaus with his addiction, Diego with his vigilantism, Vanya with her powers, Ben... was dead but still there, she was still trying to figure out that can of worms. Some nights, she wondered what Luther thought of the situation. Diego said he had sent updates to Pogo, but didn't know if Luther had received any news. And if he had...

He obviously thought dad's mission was more important. 

Once February moved onto March, nothing much had changed. The only major change was an invitation she got for a movie premiere, and almost threw it into the trash. The only reason she agreed to go was because her agent convinced her it would be a good idea to re-immerse herself in the Hollywood world. So with that, she picked out a beautiful red, velvet dress to wear and booked an appointment to get her hair and make up done. Allison barely paid any attention to any words that came out of her agent's mouth, more concerned for her siblings and daughter than the premiere. She couldn't wait for tonight to be over. It shouldn't last longer than normal, and Allison had put her foot down about going to the after party, insisting there were more important things she needed to focus on. But until then, Allison plastered on her award winning smile, hoping the evening would be over soon. 


	23. Just a Normal Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in the life of Number One, sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Brief body dysmorphia and mention of injury and drug use.

Luther woke up to the blare of his alarm, just like any other day. He reached over and turned it off, getting out of bed with a groan. He walked through his small cabin, checking to see if there had been any new transmissions while he was asleep. Much to his dismay, there weren't. Luther had hoped there was some break through with the samples he had been sending, or if there had been anything new about his siblings.

When he got the message from Pogo that Vanya was in the hospital, he thought it was some sort of test. While most of his transmissions did come from Pogo, this message had been packed into one of his food containers. As if it was supposed to be hidden from Dad. It had taken Luther about thirty minutes to open the envelope, going over different scenarios of what could have been in it. He went through a mental check list of parasites and poisons that could be small enough to fit in an envelope. Luther came to the conclusion, that if it had gotten past Dad's security, nothing harmful could be inside, right? So with a grim determination, he opened the envelope and watched as a piece of paper with familiar handwriting was unveiled. 

_"Master Luther,_

_I am very sorry you have to hear about this from me, but your father did not want anything to distract you from your task. I believe you have the right to know of the events that have occurred. Master Diego came by earlier today and delivered some very unfortunate news. Your sister, Miss Vanya, has been injured and is in the hospital. I don't know the full extent of her injuries, but from the way your brother was acting, I can only imagine it is not good. I apologize, that you've heard about this tragedy from me. I will try and keep you updated on your sister's condition to the best of my ability._

_Sincerely,_

_Dr. Pogo"_

To say Luther was dumbfounded would be an understatement. Vanya? Vanya was hurt? And in the hospital? He would expect that kind of news about Diego with his late night activities, or Allison having an injury on the set of a movie. Klaus would have to be in a coma or dead to warrant a letter about a trip to the hospital. Any of them he wouldn't be surprised about, but Vanya? Vanya was ordinary, nothing she did would warrant her to be injured. And if Dad didn't think the situation was worth his time, that means Vanya couldn't be hurt that badly, right? Which meant he shouldn't think that much of it.

Luther wrote back immediately.

He fumbled with the pencil, after four years, he still wasn't quiet used to his ~~(disgusting)~~ new body. After the pencil broke, Luther opted to use his transmitter. It still took him a few minutes to type out a message. After it was sent, he sat next to his transmitter, waiting for any news. Luther waited for hours, and nothing happened. With a sigh he stood up and began to finish his chores that he had neglected. Luther didn't hear back until about a week later.

_Number Seven released from hospital. Number Two is with her. Number Four in rehabilitation_

It was obvious Dad was the one who sent that transmission. Pogo used the names Mom gave them. Luther was just glad somebody sent him an update, and couldn't wait for the next one. 

He didn't get another one. That only confirmed for him that he worried for nothing. Vanya was obviously fine if she was released a few days after, whatever happened. She was ordinary, nothing bad happened to her, Vanya was fine. Luther spent the next few months trying to push the small, nagging voice that wouldn't stop asking if Vanya was really okay, out of his mind. If he hadn't received anything new from Dad, then that meant everything was okay. Nothing was wrong. Diego was still doing his vigilante thing, Klaus was still high, Vanya was fine and... and Allison was still happily married with a daughter.

Luther shook himself back into the present, grabbing the small watering can and nourished the little plant that sat on his counter with a sigh. He slipped on his spacesuit, grabbed the trash and walked outside. The vast emptiness of space was the sight that greeted him, nothing ever changed up here. He bounded over to the overflowing dumpster, setting the bag down with a sigh. Luther's beard scratched at his neck, he needed to shave. He moved farther out, looking over earth, and waited.

Waited...

Waited...

Waited... 

There!

If there was one thing that never grew old, it would be this. The sun began to peek out over the earth, shining onto the moon. Luther had barely anytime to enjoy it when the transmitter went of.

_"Incoming Transmission"_

He looked down, pressed accept, and immediately wished he hadn't.

_"Your father has passed."_

Luther was in shock. Dad was...

No. No that couldn't be right. Luther must've read that wrong. He looked again.

_"Your father has passed."_

He shook his head. The message was still there, mocking him. Dad was...

Dad was dead.

Dad was dead. Something must have happened. Luther went over their last conversation in his head as he moved back into his cabin, slowly taking off his suit and sat on his bed. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed that Dad believed he was being watched.

_"...be careful who you trust Number One."_

_"It is imperative that you only send transmissions to me and me along. I don't want anything to be compromise."_

Something happened to Dad, Luther would find out what happened, he would make sure that Dad wouldn't have died in vain. He was Number One. The leader. He needed to do this. With that, he sent a message and began packing his things.

 _"Get everything ready Pogo, I'm coming home."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next installment will be in season one.


End file.
